How Not To Ride Your Dragon
by BeyondTheClouds777
Summary: Sequel to "How Not To Lead Your Armada." Although Hiccup has only been Chief for three months, it doesn't stop enemies from rising against him and his people. When a certain enemy from his past comes up to take revenge, Hiccup must make a choice...hopefully, the right one. Warning: HTTYD2 Spoilers inside.
1. Chapter 1

**YAY! NEW BOOK! WHOO! **

**First off, I would like to personally thank all of those who read my first two fanfics ("How Not To Celebrate Your Birthday", and "How Not To Lead Your Armada"), and who are looking forward to this (I know I AM!). Now, for some shout-outs: **

**Forever Me: YES! SO MUCH YES! Fireworm army and Terrible Terror army collide! We will take down Dagur the Deranged! Make him pay! We can start by sending the Terrors out one at a time until they successfully get Dagur surrounded. Then, we'll send out the Fireworms to pin him down. Then, we'll get the Terrors and Fireworms to GIVE IT THEIR BEST SHOT! :) YES YES! What should our army be called, Forever Me? And yes, I LOVE updating, obviously! I try to do it quickly, because I know some people enjoy fast updates. Thanks again, and thank you for the virtual cookies! :) **

**Other: This fanfic has MAJOR How To Train Your Dragon 2 spoilers, just a warning. Enjoy! Virtual spice-cake with browned butter frosting for everyone! **

"Sir, we're nearing Berk," said a soldier to their leader. It was black that night; midnight to be exact. There was no moon, and the dark sky filled with even darker rain clouds blocked out the stars.

This was the perfect time to lay out a surprise attack against all of Berk.

If, he were after all of Berk.

But not for now. No, for now he was after one man: Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third. After he was out of the picture, Berk would be easily taken down. Without a heir, it would fall into depression.

Dagur the Deranged stood at the bow of the one ship they brought for he occasion, twiddling his axe in his hand, sharpening it with a rock, pausing every now and then to eye his reflection in the metal blade.

"Good," said Dagur. "As soon as it's in sight, we'll hide the boat, and then prepare the traps."

"The traps, sir?" asked the soldier.

"For the DRAGONS!" shouted Dagur. "Hiccup isn't going to be without his NIGHT FURY! Don't you know ANYTHING!?"

Dagur glared daggers at the soldier before turning to the twenty nine others he had brought with him.

"Hide the ship," said Dagur, "set the traps, and wait in hiding. As soon as the Night Fury gets caught, then we move. Take all available evidence with you as well, including said Night Fury. If anyone else is with Hiccup, knock them out and take them, too. Dragon included if he-or she-is riding one."

"Then what, sir?" asked the same soldier.

"Then," said Dagur, "we move to the Meeting Place. Berserk wouldn't be a safe place to hide Hiccup, or his Night Fury, because the other Berkians will be expecting it. We'll hide them. And by the time they find out where he is-" Dagur paused, looking at his axe, "-it will be too late."

After silently landing on Berk, some of Dagur's men remained on the ship to hide it and guard it, while Dagur took a majority of his best soldiers out to hide somewhere they thought Hiccup would go.

Turned out, the first place they spotted was the cove. Dagur held his torch down as low as he dared and looked down into it. He smiled, seeing two or three black scales of a Night Fury.

"The Night Fury must be here sometimes," said Dagur, jumping down and landing with perfect ease on the ground of the cove. "And where the Night Fury is, Hiccup follows. Set the traps, men, and then go for cover," he ordered.

The men did as they were told, soon having set up five bola traps placed in random spots around said area. Soon after, they were done. They went with Dagur and hid behind a large stone at the far corner of it.

"This is perfect," said Dagur. "Don't worry, Hiccup," he said to himself mostly. "Soon, I'll put you and your precious Night Fury out of your misery. And when that happens-bye bye Berk."

**Sorry for the shortness of this chapter! I promise none of my other chapters will be this short! It's the beginning of the story, after all, so I had to start it off **_**someway**_**, and I'm terrible at long dialogues. Anyways, thanks! This is the final book to the "How Not To" series, and I-Am-EXCITED! :) Thanks to all! Free virtual yakbutter parfait for everyone! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello! Here's chapter 2, and a few shout outs: **

**xFaerieValkyriex: YES! Dagur is insane! He really lives up to his name, "Dagur the Deranged" with flying colors, now doesn't he? :) I am SO looking forward to Seasons 3 and 4 (I found on wikipidia that there will be a season 3 as well as a season 4). Maybe Dagur will be even _more _crazy than usual...if that's even _possible. _Thank you for faving! Means a lot to me, since I've only had my fanfiction account for about a week or so. :) THANKS!  
><strong>

**Other: Thanks to all who read and just don't review, fav, or follow. I know you're out there. *mischievous grin* Somewhere...hehehehe. I know, that's _really _creepy, and I should probably stop now...but thanks. Enjoy the chapter, hate the cliffhanger, or the other way around, or neither, or both, or whatever. :) I'll update sooner than later! Here ya go!**

_**The Next Morning...**_

Hiccup rode Toothless beside Valka and her Stormcutter, Cloudjumper, as they flew around Berk. It was early morning, the sun just barely kissing the top of the mountain, letting out just a few sunrays. Not that it mattered how dark or light it was. The dragons didn't have a problem.

Hiccup and his mother were racing through the air, whooping and crying out with joy and satisfaction. They had races quite often, early morning before the village awoke, since Hiccup was too busy to do it afterwards, and too tired to do it at night.

So early morning it was, then.

They raced, although there wasn't a prize. If one won, it would just be a "Yay, I won, let's do it again." No pressure, no "if you lose you have to do this" or "if I win you have to do this" sort of thing. Just a mother and son racing on their dragons, enjoying the wind in their faces.

Hiccup leaned over Toothless, Valka mirroring him with Cloudjumper.

"THIS...IS...AWESOME!" shouted Hiccup, suddenly throwing his arms into the air with such force he almost fell backwards. He gripped Toothless' saddle just beforehand.

"Yes it is!" shouted Valka, smiling back at her twenty year old son. Since he became Chief of Berk three months ago, Valka had been doing everything she could to make it up to Hiccup for not being there for him his whole life, weather helping him with the village, or just racing him for the sport of it.

"One more lap?" Hiccup asked. "Last one to the cove?"

"Ah, no, Hiccup," said Valka. Hiccup frowned. His mother had _never _said no before. He was just about to ask her why when Valka suddenly shouted "TWO laps, last one to the cove!" and Cloudjumper sped off with a speed Hiccup didn't know he had.

Toothless blasted off, quickly gaining. By the time they completed the first lap, Toothless was slightly ahead of Cloudjumper. Mother and son continued on with the next lap around Berk before heading towards the cove.

As usual, Toothless out flew Cloudjumper. Toothless landed in the cove, Cloudjumper landing beside him, the two Haddocks dismounting and approaching each other.

Toothless and Cloudjumper just barely missed hitting the triggers to two of the bola traps...

"Not bad, Hiccup," said Valka.

"Not bad yourself either, Mom," said Hiccup.

She smiled warmly at him, and he smiled back at her. Valka was still learning how to be a mother to a son she hadn't seen the first twenty years of his life, and Hiccup was leaning what it was like to _have _a mother he didn't have the first twenty years of his life. It was a life-changing experience for both of them.

"So, back to Berk?" asked Hiccup.

"Why not?" Valka agreed. While turning to their dragons, both of them froze. The dragons were sniffing the air and snarling.

"That's not-_normal, _is it?" Hiccup asked himself out loud.

Assuming the question was directed to her, Valka answered, "No, it's not."

Hiccup, on instinct, drew Inferno and clicked it, causing the fire-lit blade to spring out. The sun was rising higher now, and Inferno's fire was also giving out some light...

But by the time they noticed the traps, it was already too late.

Toothless took a step forward, followed by Cloudjumper. Unfortunately, that one step forward activated the traps. Two bolas shot out, trapping both dragons.

"Toothless!" shouted Hiccup on instinct.

"Cloudjumper!" Valka did the same. They were about five feet away from their dragons, but before they could cover the distance, Dagur's men jumped out from hiding, one by one, each holding a loaded crossbow.

"Oh, that-that's productive," Hiccup mumbled sarcastically.

Dagur stepped forward, holding up his hand to his men, ordering them silently to lower their crossbows. Including Dagur, Hiccup counted to see how far they were outnumbered. It was two to twenty, the twenty armed with crossbows.

"Chances of escaping them are dwindling into single digits now," Hiccup whispered to Valka.

"Surprise surprise, Hiccup!" Dagur chanted happily, holding his axe in one hand. "How do you like my little plan? Don't answer that!" he shouted suddenly when he saw Hiccup raise a hand to answer. "I already know. You weren't expecting it now, were you?"

"Get off this island, Dagur," Hiccup snarled. Valka was a bit taken back. She had _never _heard Hiccup speak like that to _anyone _before with that tone of voice. It was bitter, full of hatred and anger. Looking to him, she had _never _seen him _look _so angry and bitter before, except when they were battling Drago.

Dagur laughed dryly. "And under what circumstances should I leave, huh, Hiccup?" he asked. "Face it, Hiccup, I've won! And just wait until the rest of Berk hears about what I'm going to do to you!"

"Hiccup!" shouted Valka suddenly, looking to her son, her eyes pleading for an answer on who this man was, and why he and Hiccup seemed to have a tremendous amount of hatred towards each other.

Dagur turned to her as if noticing her for the first time. "Oh, and who is this?" Dagur asked, approaching her. Valka glared just as harshly as Hiccup had glared at him, but Dagur remained unmoved.

"If you touch her..." Hiccup said through clenched teeth while balling his fist, the other one clenched around Inferno, "...I'll make sure you never forget it to the point of your death."

"_My _death?" asked Dagur. "_MY _death!? Hiccup," he laughed half-way, "I'm not the one with the weapons pointed at me."

"You are an enemy of Berk, Dagur," said Hiccup.

"Blah blah blah," Dagur mumbled. "I don't care! Just wait until I kill you, Hiccup. Imagine how Berk will feel, knowing that their heir is dead."

"I'M NOT THE HEIR!" shouted Hiccup. _Don't go any further...you'll blow it...you'll make it worse..._ Hiccup's mind told him, but he couldn't listen. Dagur crossed the line before it was even made. "I am CHIEF of Berk, DAGUR! GET...OFF...MY...ISLAND!"

Valka couldn't help but flinch. Man, Hiccup and Dagur, as Hiccup had called him, had just confirmed their hatred towards each other. She was sure it went much deeper than just one problem, too.

Dagur looked shocked, but at the same time, happy. He grinned before laughing maniacally.

"YOU!?" shouted Dagur. "YOU'RE the Chief!? Oh, Hiccup! THAT. IS. GOLD!" He continued to laugh. Valka balled her fists with anger. What was this guy's _problem_!? "I'll kill you regardless, though, but think of your people!" He continued laughing as if it were the funniest thing in the world. "Especially...Astrid. Your people will give up all hope when they learned I have killed you-you can't lead an armada without the commander, am I right!?"

Hiccup didn't answer. Dagur finally stopped cackling, but he didn't take his eyes off Hiccup, and he didn't stop _smiling. _

"Aren't you going to say something in your own defense?" asked Dagur.

"You're wrong about Berk," Hiccup growled. "Berk will move on, regardless, just as you will kill me, regardless. It always has, it always will. And it will not stop, until you and your Berserkers are finally defeated."

Valka was tempted to clap, but didn't. Dagur finally frowned and approached Hiccup, and Hiccup didn't flinch.

They were about the same height, but Dagur was obviously older. Valka guessed he was in his late twenties, quite possibly ten years older than Hiccup.

"You will regret this," said Dagur. He shot a quick look at Valka. "Both of you. I have special plans for you, Hiccup," Dagur went on. "Special plans. But, they don't take place on Berk." He turned around and nodded to the men with the crossbows. They immediately took them up again, aiming them at Hiccup and Valka. "Come with me now willingly, or we might just have to..._persuade _you." Dagur eyed Valka at the last two words. She knew what he was thinking; use her as a reason for Hiccup to work with him, or else...she also knew that Hiccup would _never _let Dagur hurt her, which also meant...he _would _work with Dagur...to _protect her. _

...oh no...

_...this..._

_...was..._

_...awful... _


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry in advance for the shortness of this chapter. As usual, first, a couple of shout outs: **

**AnimeAngel: Yeah, Dagur just NEVER knows when to quit. I'm glad you like my other fanfictions! If you have any requests, please go on ahead! I'm going to be starting a one-shot series after this fic is completed, but I need some ideas. Any ideas? :) **

**Grey skies: Thanks! Glad you're enjoying them! Thanks for reviewing; it means more than you know to me. **

**For other people who read the fanfic, yet do not, fav, follow, or review: I normally post two to three chapters a day on all days except Wednesday, Sunday, and sometimes Thursday. On those days, I will probably only get one chapter out. Also: since I update quickly, sometimes I think it is the case where you accidentally skip a chapter. I will put a notice out every time I post a new chapter (for instance, I would say; THIS IS MY THIRD UPDATE TODAY-for this fanfic, it really is-SO IF YOU MISSED THE FIRST TO UPDATES, PLEASE READ THE PREVIOUS CHAPTERS OR YOU WILL NOT UNDERSTAND THE PRESENT ONE). I think you all get it. :) **

**Once again, thanks! Virtual gummy bears, or some other candy of your choice! **

**Valka's POV**

Dagur looked at Hiccup and smiled. Hiccup only glared daggers back at his old enemy. Valka watched the two of them in silence, although every instinct she had was telling her to run forward and just do _something_..._ANYTHING _besides just standing there staring at her son and his enemy.

"I didn't want to have to do this, Hiccup," said Dagur, "but you leave me no choice." He turned around and looked at his men. Nodding, ten of the twenty men put their crossbows down on the ground beside them and drew slingshots. They also grabbed large, fist-sized metal balls and loaded them into the slings.

"Fire at my will," said Dagur, putting up his hand.

"Don't get hit," Hiccup whispered to his mother. "For one thing, they _hurt_, and for another thing, they knock you clean out almost instantly most the time, depending on where it hits you. And the pain in your head lingers for_ever_...I speak from experience."

Valka didn't reply with words; she just nodded, turning her focus back to Dagur and his men, watching as they pulled back on their slingshots, getting ready to shoot.

"NOW!" shouted Dagur. As soon as Dagur shouted, the men released the stones, sending them flying through the air. Hiccup and Valka were ready for them, which made dodging them fairly simple.

They managed to make it through their first round of fire. Hiccup, watching them reload, ran towards his dragon and began cutting the ropes with Inferno. But the men reloaded, this time aiming for the two thrashing dragons.

Hiccup had just enough time to jump out of the way before the stones were fired. They hit the two dragons, knocking them clean out.

Valka couldn't believe it. It was so easy knocking the two dragons out...how much easier would it be to knock her and Hiccup out?

Hiccup groaned loudly, noticing his and her dragon were out cold.

"Great, just great!" he shouted, running in her direction as the Berserkers fired their third round towards him. "This is perfect, isn't it!?" he shouted sarcastically, stopping when he got beside Valka.

"FIRE!" shouted Dagur again after his men reloaded. They pulled back on the slings and released the stones. Hiccup and Valka both broke out in different directions. Unfortunately, Valka didn't dodge it completely in time. One of the stones grazed the side of her head.

The pain was excruciating, but she wasn't unconscious yet.

_Keyword: yet. _

She cried out in pain before falling to her knees.

"Mom!" Hiccup called out, trying to race towards her, but failing when Dagur and his men shot more at him. He dodged-wait, did he? She couldn't tell. The world around her was fading quickly; she was losing the battle against consciousness.

_No no no no! _she yelled at herself in her mind. _Get up get up get up get up! Hiccup needs you! Get up! _

She couldn't force herself to a stand. She couldn't even force herself to call out to Hiccup. She couldn't force herself to stay awake...

...the last thing she saw, was Hiccup charging towards Dagur. Dagur raised his axe, Hiccup raised Inferno. Just before their weapons parried, Valka lost consciousness all together, and her world went black.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello! Sorry in advance for the short chapter. As usual, a few shoutouts: **

**lorde: Thank you for expressing your opinion! And no, you did not insult me. I enjoy negative criticism. Makes me a better author. :) I considered putting Astrid in Valka's role, having Astrid and Hiccup being the ones to race at the beginning, but then I realized that I wanted to write some Mother/Son bonding between Hiccup and Valka. In the one-shot series I create after this fic's done, I WILL add more Hiccstrid. I'm also terrible at romances, but I think I could manage. :) **

**Everyone else who reads without reviewing, favoring, or following: Thanks for reading! I know not everyone favs, reviews, or follows, but I know that lots of people out there read this who don't do either three. I know you're out there. Don't be creeped out about it, but I do. THANK YOU FOR READING! And now...ON WITH THE SHOW! :)**

**Valka's POV**

"Mom!"

_She was vaguely aware of a terrible ache in her head..._

"Mom!"

_Also the fact that it was freezing..._

"MOM!"

_There was also something shaking her..._

"MOM!"

_And a voice calling her... _

"PLEASE WAKE UP!"

_She soon recognized the voice...her son's voice. But her eyes wouldn't open. Her eyelids wouldn't let them. _

"SAY SOMETHING! PLEASE!"

She cracked her eyes open a little bit. It wasn't any lighter than when they were closed. She could still feel someone shaking her arm.

"Hiccup?" she whispered.

"Ah!" Hiccup cried out in either shock or joy (she honestly couldn't tell) and threw his arms around her and started crying. Valka took the hint and welcomed the embrace, wrapping her own arms around his back.

"Don't. _Do that!" _Hiccup cried. "You were lying so still and-and for a second I thought that maybe-" he continued to cry. "I thought I'd LOST you!"

He and Valka hugged each other for what felt like hours, when in reality only ten minutes had passed. Hiccup and Valka parted their embrace, Hiccup keeping his eyes focused on Valka as if she would just disappear in front of him. She looked around at her surroundings. Once her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she was able to make out the fact that they were in a cell, the door being made of rusty bars while the rest of the cell was made from stone bricks cemented into place.

"Where are we?" asked Valka.

"In truth?" asked Hiccup. Valka nodded, although she could tell by his tone of voice he was hoping she would do the opposite and shake her head. "I have no idea," he answered dolefully, sighing before speaking.

"What happened, after I was knocked out?" asked Valka.

"Well, naturally, since I was the only one not to get knocked out at that point, all their aim was on me," said Hiccup. His voice trailed off, Valka realizing he didn't want to continue. But she _had _to know.

"Go on?" she offered.

Hiccup sighed again. "After they knocked you out, they turned their focus to me," he partially repeated. "And then they knocked me out. After that it's all a little-hazy, but they knocked me out a fair few times every time I regained conscious before I could really learn anything."

"What do you mean, a fair few times?" asked Valka.

"I don't know," said Hiccup, shrugging. "Maybe eight, nine times?"

"Hiccup!" she shouted suddenly, causing him to wince. The pain in her head was unbearable, and here Hiccup told her he had been knocked out eight (or possibly nine) times. And that metal rock barely grazed her head. No doubt the Berserkers didn't miss when they were firing at Hiccup, seeing as how there were ten of them and one of him. "That's awful! How-how dare they do something like that!?"

"Okay, you don't have to yell, Mom, I'm right here," said Hiccup.

"Right," said Valka. "Seriously, though, Hiccup-Hiccup? HICCUP!" She shouted suddenly as he became unresponsive. Panic set in as he fell backwards, unconscious, his eyes closed, mouth drawn in a straight line. Valka caught him by the shoulders and then dragged him over to the corner of the cell, leaning him up against the wall to examine him.

"Hiccup?" she asked, still not getting a response. She now took notice of a large, swelling welt implanted on the side of his head. Valka realized he had passed out, from what exactly, she didn't know, but she could guess.

She sat next to him, her side pressed up against his. "We're going to get out of here," she promised her unconscious son as if he could hear her. "We will. Don't give up on me now."


	5. Chapter 5

**HEY! Sorry if I update too fast...I know it probably gets annoying. Like you're in the middle of a chapter, and all of a sudden, "BeyondTheClouds777 has posted a new chapter for 'How Not To Ride Your Dragon' and I bet some of you are all like "AGAIN!? SERIOUSLY!? DOES THIS PERSON EVER TAKE A BREAK!?" (answer to the question, by the way, is no). As usual, a few shout-outs: **

**xFaerieValkyriex (Reply to your reply to my reply to your review. Haha): Actually, Faerie, I learned that Hiccup's sword is named Inferno from two sources: Source number one: How to Train Your Dragon Wikipidia (EXTREMELY helpful, by the way, if you write HTTYD fanfics like me). Source number two: The Art of How To Train Your Dragon states that the sword is named Inferno. I think it is the most amazing name Hiccup could have possibly chosen for the sword, do you agree? So far, I have not seen any release dates for new episodes (I'm checking wiki every now and then to try and find one, but it just says "Spring 2015", and I'm sitting there like "Yes yes, thank you, very helpful. TELL ME SOMETHING I DON'T KNOW NOW!"). I have been looking forward to seeing the Outcast Alliance with Berk as well. Can't wait for 2015! I am also hoping it starts showing on Netflix around my birthday, since my birthday is in Spring, and that way maybe I could get a Netflix membership for my birthday, since we don't already have it. :) **

**AnimeAngel: Yeah, I do update fast. :) I try to, anyway, but if it annoys you, tell me! Same goes for everyone, honestly. :) Yes, I will take your suggestion, and thanks for it! I agree, it would be AWESOME seeing Hiccup training with a sword. Maybe he could get Astrid to help him out...LOL! Seriously, though, who else would help him, besides maybe Fishlegs? Honestly, though, Fishlegs wouldn't be a very worthy opponent. I mean, he _would_, but at the same time, he wouldn't, if that makes ANY sense at all. **

**Everyone else: Thank you for reading, favoring, following, reviewing, because I'm celebrating! My third ever fanfic, like my tenth day on Fanfiction, and I've already gotten SO MANY good reports! Thank you all! Virtual chocolate bars! *tosses them out to crowd* Enjoy the next chapter!**

**Previous Chapter In Hiccup's POV**

Hiccup woke up in a dark, musty, dirty cell. The first thing he was aware of was the fact that it was _freezing_, as if the builders of the cell just thought "Hey! Let's build a prison chamber...and fill it to the brim with snow!" That's what it felt like.

The second thing he was aware of was how much his head _hurt. _Breathing made it throb, not moving made it throb, but _moving _made it feel like it was going to explode. He gripped the left side of his head with one hand, using the other to pull himself up into a sitting position. His head hurt so badly it was a miracle he hadn't already passed out. He resisted the urge to cry out in pain, yet he couldn't stop the whimpers and moans that escaped him.

It was then that, after his vision had cleared, he noticed another figure laying on the floor a few feet away from him. Without waiting, knowing who it was before he got a good look, Hiccup stood up, the only thing keeping him from crumpling back to the ground and blacking out was the worry that was currently engulfing him.

He got up, ran forward, and collapsed to his knees in front of his mother.

"Mom?" he asked tentatively, shaking her slightly. "Mom!" he yelled after getting no response, not caring how much it hurt his already throbbing head. "MOM!" he shouted again, shaking her more violently. "MOM! PLEASE WAKE UP! SAY SOMETHING! PLEASE!"

Tears began to sting his eyes from both pain and sorrow. It was then he turned away, closing his eyes, only to hear a small voice whisper out, "Hiccup?"

That got him instantly. He cried out in both shock and joy, wary of how much his skull ached at this point. He threw his arms around his mother and started crying. He couldn't help it. He was _sure _she had died...but now...he just couldn't hold it in. He felt her wrap her arms around him as well, which just made him feel even more-what's the right word? Happy? Shocked? Joyful?

"Don't._ Do that!_" he ordered through choked sobs. "You were lying so still and-" he took a deep breath before continuing, "-and for a second I thought that maybe-" His voice trailed off slightly as his cries became more fervent. "I thought I'd LOST you!"

He continued to cry, not wanting to ever let go of the mother he thought he had lost. He didn't care how much the crying was making his head ache more so than it already was. He didn't care that they were still trapped. He didn't care about anything else right now, besides the fact that they were both alive.

At length, they both parted their embrace, staring into one another's eyes. Hiccup stared at his mother as she looked around, not wanting her to ever be out of his sight again. But he was vaguely aware of the way his vision went in and out of focus due to his splitting headache.

"Where are we?" asked his mother.

"In truth?" Hiccup asked, hoping she would say "No." But instead, she nodded her head, much to Hiccup's dismay. This would mean he would have to tell her everything he knew...and knowing her, it wouldn't suite well with her. He sighed heavily before answering, "I have no idea."

"What happened, after I was knocked out?" asked Valka.

"Well, naturally, since I was the only one not to get knocked out at that point, all their aim was on me," said Hiccup. He stopped. He didn't want to continue, only because he didn't want to worry her. She looked at him.

"Go on?" she said.

Hiccup sighed again, really not wanting to answer. Speaking only made his head hurt worse, but telling Valka that would only make her fear for him, and he didn't need that, so he answered, "After they knocked you out, they turned their focus to me. And then they knocked me out. After that it's all a little-hazy, but they knocked me out a fair few times every time I regained conscious before I could really learn anything."

"What do you mean, a fair few times?" asked Valka.

_Oh boy..._ thought Hiccup to himself. _Here it comes. _"I don't know," he said while shrugging, trying to make it sound like it was nothing, although the pain in his head _definitely _said something different. "Maybe eight, nine times?"

"Hiccup!" Valka exclaimed. The sound of her voice rang through Hiccup's ears, only worsening the already almost unbearable ache in his skull. He winced, trying not to let his mother see it, although he was sure she did. "That's awful!" Valka continued, not softening her voice or lowering it the least bit. "How-how dare they do something like that!?"

"Okay, you don't have to yell, Mom, I'm right here," said Hiccup, biting his lip to keep himself from crying out in pain. Suddenly, it became too much. He was aware of Valka talking, but to him it just sounded like someone speaking while under water.

He heard her shout his name; the only thing clear out of the whole thing she said, before his eyes rolled up in his head. He could feel himself slumping backwards, and then he allowed the darkness to take its toll.

**Normal POV**

Valka watched her son with a pang of sorrow. Hiccup had been unconscious for nearly three hours now just by her speculation; and even then, three hours had been "at the least". "At the most" would have been around six. She was worried for his sake. The swollen lump on his head seemed to be getting worse, not better. She was relieved he had been conscious, so at least she knew it wasn't as bad as it could have been. But now he was sitting beside her, his head resting limply on her shoulder, and she was beginning to think that it could have been more serious than it appeared to be.

Valka felt helpless; useless; worried; scared; fearful; horrible; you name it. The pain in her head had ebbed down until it was nothing and only hurt when made contact with, but Hiccup was a different story. He _passed out _right in front of her, for goodness sake! And she couldn't do anything to stop the swelling on his head, or check and make sure he was alright.

Well, she didn't need to check to know that he was _absolutely NOT _alright. She settled for waiting in silence like she had been doing the past hours. She wondered if anyone on Berk had even noticed they were gone; and if they had, would they be coming to look for them? Would they find them?

Valka was about to think of something else, when she heard a faint moan. Looking beside her, she saw that Hiccup's eyes were cracked open just enough for her to see the emerald color that they were.

"Mom?" he whispered faintly.

"Yes, I'm here," said Valka.

"What-_happened_?" he asked, clutching his head with his hand, grimacing as it only worsened the pain.

"You passed out, son," said Valka.

"Passed out?" Hiccup repeated. Then he remembered. "Oh, right," he said. "I did, didn't I."

Valka nodded. Hiccup made a move to stand up, but groaned loudly as it only made his headache worse.

"Hiccup!" exclaimed Valka, grabbing his shoulders as he sank quickly to the ground. She helped him down the rest of the way before moving over and sitting beside him again. "You can't do that right now," she said, once again softly. "I would really appreciate it if you would just rest a bit, okay?"

He didn't protest as he closed his eyes, which worried his mother. Normally, he wouldn't go down without a fight, but this time, he did. Her worry for him was only growing...which didn't help when she thought about how Dagur had said he had special plans for Hiccup.

"This is awful," Hiccup moaned, catching Valka by surprise. She had been sure he was either asleep or unconscious again. Apparently, though, he wasn't. "Here we are in Dagur's cell, trapped like downed dragons." Saying the word "dragons" instantly made him think of Toothless and Cloudjumper. He knew Dagur hadn't just left them on Berk for the Berkians to find; he wouldn't make the same mistake twice. Meaning, they would have to have been on the same island Valka and Hiccup were on...

...unfortunately, neither one of them knew what island they were on.

"This is all my fault," said Hiccup.

Valka turned to him suddenly. "No, Hiccup, it's not," she said, sternly but softly. "You didn't know this would happen. Neither did I. Neither did anyone on Berk. Please don't go blaming yourself, though."

"But it's _true,_" said Hiccup.

"No, it's not," said Valka.

"No, no, I'm pretty, _extra_ sure that it is," said Hiccup.

Valka sighed. "You can say that all you want, Hiccup," she said, "but blaming yourself for getting kidnapped won't help us get free."

Hiccup sighed before nodding. He stopped mid-nod, clutching his head and moaning in pain.

"So," he started, "what do we do now?"

"What can we do now?" asked Valka.

Silence.

"We have to wait for now," she said, wrapping an arm around her son and pulling him close. "I hate it as much as you do, Hiccup, but in your condition, walking is dangerous enough, let alone trying to plan an entire getaway."

Hiccup nodded slightly, leaning heavily against his mother, laying his head on her shoulder. He was about as tall as she was; just a tad bit shorter in his case. He closed his eyes, and was soon asleep.

_**Meanwhile...Back on Berk...**_

Astrid ran through the plaza towards Hiccup's house, Stormfly chasing after her rider, surprised at the fact Astrid didn't mount her and ride over; it would be quicker that way. But Astrid seemed too worked up to even think twice about the dragon running pitifully behind her.

Snotlout had managed to get Hookfang mad (again), and now he was storming about the academy, skin lit with fire in anger. Hiccup trained Hookfang in the first place; the two had an strange understanding.

Besides, Hookfang respected Hiccup and great deal more than he respected Snotlout. Hiccup could get him under control, usually in a matter of seconds, sometimes minutes, depending on Hookfang's attitude.

Astrid ran up the hill to the Chief's house, still not fully registering that Hiccup, once called Hiccup the Useless, was now Chief of Berk. She pushed that thought aside, although she still could not believe it, as she reached the top of the hill.

Astrid ran up, gasping for breath, and knocked on the door loudly.

"Hiccup!" Astrid called. When she didn't get a response, she knocked again. "Hiccup, Hookfang's gone bonkers again." She glared at the door before banging it harder. "Hiccup Haddock, answer me!" She banged again.

Astrid knew Hiccup and Valka always went out for an early morning race before the village woke, but they should have been back hours ago. Astrid, now worried that something happened, opened the door and stepped inside.

The house looked deserted; the fire put out, as still as a person petrified by the Flightmare. Astrid looked around. No sign of the dragons, either.

"Hiccup?" Astrid called out, stepping into the house to investigate. "Valka?" She called, hoping to get a response. She stepped up the stairs to Hiccup's loft, but found it appearing to be deserted as well, save for all the papers scattered across his desk, along with a few on the floor.

"What in the world...?" Astrid thought out loud to herself. "I know they always go out for flights, but-" She looked around the room one last time before plunging back down the stairs. "They really should be _back by now_."

Astrid walked back outside and mounted her dragon. "Come on, Stormfly," said Astrid. "We have to go see if we can find them."

Stormfly grunted before spreading her wings and shooting into the sky. Astrid looked below for any sign of Hiccup, Toothless, Valka, or Cloudjumper; but she found nothing. Looking back to the academy, she watched an explosion emanated from it.

Groaning loudly, she turned Stormfly back towards the arena. Hiccup would be back...he always was. But it was more of an unanswered question than an encouraging statement.

Valka paced back and forth, wondering what she was going to do. Hiccup was sleeping in the corner of the cell (or unconscious-Valka didn't know), laying on his side, breathing in deep, steady breaths.

Valka glanced at him before continuing to pace back and forth, her feet shuffling on the filthy, stone floor. Although it was made of stone, it was covered in grimy sand in some spots. It was musty and dusty, making it even more miserable.

Valka was about to go check on Hiccup again, when she heard a sound she would soon learn to dread. The sound of footsteps nearing the prison; the light of a torch being carried by a man.

When the man came to stop in front of the cell, it took Valka's eyes a minute to adjust to the light of the torch. As soon as they did, however, she growled, almost like an agitated Night Fury.

"Dagur," she sulked.

"Glad to see you finally caught on," said Dagur. "Did Hiccup tell you my name, or did you just guess?"

"I heard him yell it at you," said Valka.

"So...what's your name?" asked Dagur.

"Why would I tell you?" asked Valka.

"In case you haven't noticed," said Dagur, "you're in _my _prison-and your son's laying over there-" He craned his neck to get a look at Hiccup, "-unconscious?"

Valka didn't question how Dagur knew she was Hiccup's mother. She knew he had heard him shout "Mom!" after she had cried out in pain when the stone hit the side of her head.

It was so simple; just tell Dagur her name, but maybe that's why she didn't want to tell him. Because it was so simple. She looked over at Hiccup again. There wasn't any telling what Dagur would do to him if she refused any of his wishes.

"Valka Haddock," said Valka. "Now why don't you just leave us alone?"

"Where's the fun in that, _Valka_?" asked Dagur. Valka hated the way Dagur said her name, but she didn't tell him that for fear of what Dagur would do. Not to her, but to Hiccup. "What's wrong with Hiccup?"

"He's got a bad concussion, no thanks to you," Valka snarled.

"Oh," said Dagur as if he were disappointed. "I guess I can't use him until he's over that, now can I?"

"Use him for _what!?" _Valka asked, her voice a demanding tone that would have made anyone want to do what she said.

"Business," said Dagur. "Moreover, revenge." Dagur grabbed a satchel Valka hadn't noticed he was holding and tossed it into the cell so it landed just a few inches in front of Valka's feet. Valka looked at the satchel before looking back at Dagur.

"I'll be back tomorrow," said Dagur, "weather Hiccup's ready or not."

"You bastard," Valka hissed through clenched teeth. "You complete, utter, _bastard_."

"I prefer the term _deranged, _Valka," said Dagur. "_Dagur _the _Deranged_."

With that, Dagur turned and left Valka alone with Hiccup again. Valka stared down at the satchel before picking it up. She held it before unstrapping it to examine the contents...


	6. Chapter 6

**'Ello, friends! A couple shout-outs: **

**xFaerieValkyriex: Live stream, huh? I never thought of that! Yes, come on, Dreamworks! We want an exact date! LOL! When HTTYD2 comes out on DVD, we'll probably end up getting it from our grandparents eventually. And when we do, I plan to watch HTTYD, "Gift of the Night Fury", "Legend of the Boneknapper", "Book of Dragons", all the "Riders of Berk" episodes, followed by all the "Defenders of Berk" episodes, followed by "Dawn of the Dragon Racers" (which will be out by that time. If you don't know what it is, you should look it up. :) ), and then HTTYD2. Sounds like a plan, huh? :)**

**Enjoy the chapter!**

"Snotlout!" exclaimed Astrid angrily as she ran into the academy, just barely dodging one of Hookfang's fireballs. "What are you doing!?"

"Hookfang and I were bored," said Snotlout, shrugging his shoulders.

"I told him not to," said Fishlegs, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, well we told him to," said Tuffnut. "And it-was-awesome!"

"YEAH!" shouted Ruffnut.

"GUYS!" yelled Astrid. They instantly quieted at the tone of her voice. "Have any of you seen Hiccup?"

"Pfft," said Snotlout, rolling his eyes, although he looked slightly...was it worried? "If you don't know, how could I possibly?"

"Wait," said Fishlegs, "you mean you don't know where Hiccup is?"

Astrid shook her head. "No," she replied. "I went to his house...nothing. Valka's gone, too, along with Cloudjumper, and Toothless."

"Well, then it's _obvious _they're out racing, Astrid," said Snotlout, annoyed.

"That's what I thought, too," said Astrid, "but they're never out this late. It's already nine o'clock!"

"Wait...it is?" asked Tuffnut.

"I wasn't talking to you," said Astrid.

"I don't know where he is, Astrid," said Snotlout.

"Fishlegs?" asked Astrid hopefully.

Fishlegs shook his head. "But I could help you look for him," he offered.

"Thanks," said Astrid. "Come on, we should hurry."

Fishlegs whistled to Meatlung while Astrid ran out, mounting Stormfly. Fishlegs got on Meatlung, and the two took off. Astrid flew over Berk and looked down, seeing a familiar sight. Eret son of Eret was talking to Gobber, Skullcrusher beside Eret, and Grump beside Gobber.

"Maybe they have an idea where Hiccup is," Fishlegs suggested.

"Can't hurt to ask," said Astrid. "Stormfly, down," she commanded her dragon. Stormfly quickly obeyed with flying colors as she flew down, landing a few feet away from Gobber and Eret as to not disrupt their conversation. Fishlegs did the same, landing Meatlung right beside Stormfly.

Astrid and Fishlegs dismounted, approaching Eret and Gobber. Said people turned, looking at Astrid and Fishlegs, both smiling.

"Ah, Miss Hofferson," Eret greeted. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"We're looking for Hiccup," said Astrid. "Have you seen him?"

Eret shook his head. "Not since last night, no," said Eret. "Why do you ask?"

"We can't find him," Fishlegs explained. "Gobber, any ideas, suggestions, anything?" He asked the blacksmith.

"I haven't seen him since same time as Eret," said Gobber. "Are you saying he's missing?"

Astrid sighed. She wanted to say no, but if no one knew where he was, obviously Hiccup _was _missing. But it wasn't just Hiccup either.

"Any sign of Valka?" she asked Eret and Gobber.

They both shook their heads.

"This is bad," said Eret. "Chief Haddock and his mother just disappearing randomly?"

"Hiccup wouldn't just disappear," said Gobber. "Something must be up."

"I was wondering," said Astrid, shifting her weight awkwardly, "if maybe you could get Skullcrusher to help track them down?"

Said dragon sauntered over to Eret, nudging his arm.

"Of course!" exclaimed Eret all at once, the volume of his voice rising slightly. "Least I could do for Hiccup, after all, and you too of course, Miss Hofferson."

"Good," said Astrid. "Then let's go! You coming, Gobber?"

"Wouldn't miss it," the blacksmith replied, jumping on Grump. Astrid and Fishlegs grinned, running over to their dragons and hopping onto their backs. Eret did the same on Skullcrusher before the dragons took to the air.

"Ready?" asked Astrid.

"Born ready!" said Eret.

Astrid flew Stormfly over to the Haddock residence. The other dragons and riders remained in the air while she landed Stormfly and ran inside the house. She grabbed Hiccup's helmet off his desk before running out and jumping on Stormfly, rejoining the others in the sky.

She held Hiccup's helmet in front of Skullcrusher. The dragon took in the scent before roaring, charging off in another direction.

"I think he's got something!" exclaimed Eret.

"Oh, you think!?" shouted Astrid. She held the helmet also in front of Stormfly, remembering that Nadders were also a tracker class dragon. Stormfly sniffed it before turning in the same direction Skullcrusher had turned in.

Gobber and Fishlegs followed the other two until they saw two other dragons roar. Looking behind her, Astrid saw Snotlout and Hookfang, followed by Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Barf and Belch.

Astrid grinned as Snotlout rolled beside her on Hookfang.

"Awww, you do care," said Astrid.

Snotlout turned to her suddenly, his face a mix of deadpan and shocked.

"What!?" he exclaimed. "No! I just-he is my cousin, and not just that, but he's also the _Chief_."

"Sure, Snotlout," said Astrid sarcastically.

Snotlout turned away from her, refusing to meet her gaze. Astrid smiled in triumph. She _knew _that Snotlout cared about what happened to Hiccup, and she also knew he would never admit it.

"What could have possibly happened?" asked Astrid. "Hiccup's never _late_ just for no reason."

Gobber nodded. He out of anyone would know. He knew Hiccup probably better than most. But that also worried Astrid.

"Faster, Stormfly," said Astrid. "I just keep getting the feeling that something horrible has happened."


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you all for all of your encouragements and suggestions! This fanfic will probably be a little longer than "How Not To Lead Your Armada", but not by much. I'm probably going to finish posting it by the end of the week, considering how fast I post. Just a few shoutouts: **

**AnimeAngel: If Dagur and Drago's armies went to war, they'd either have an alliance formed by the end of it, or all be dead by the end of it. Lol! **

**xFaerieValkyriex: YES! I cannot WAIT for Dawn of the Dragon Racers. Me and my younger brother are developing theories for a short-film that hasn't even come out yet, haha! I read somewhere that it was going to be a prequel to HTTYD2, but I don't know, so don't quote me! :) Astrid, Eret, Gobber, Fishlegs, Snotlout, Ruffnut anf Tuffnut better hurry, too. Who knows what Dagur has planned for Hiccup...(*evil grin*) **

**lorde: No problem! :) I LOVE Hiccstrid, I just wanted Mother/Son bonding, since we didn't see a lot of that in HTTYD2. **

**Other: Any suggestions for when I start my one-shot series is open. I am most positive that the series will be titled "This...is Berk" (what else am I going to call it? Lol!). Suggestions make me happy! Note: I am not good at romances, and I am not good at Sickfics, or Deathfics, so please do not request any (PLEASE feel free to request Hiccstrid-just nothing too romancy). I do not write crossovers, either (sorry to those who enjoy them, please don't hate me). I just like leaving the movies to the way they were written, leaving the characters to the assigned movies as well. I might write one eventually, just because, but don't be looking for it for a long time. :) **

**Free yaknog to everyone! *takes sip* Ahh, never mind. Free anything else-ANYTHING ELSE-besides yaknog! **

...a water canteen, and a roll of gauze. Valka wasn't sure whether she should have been shocked, or thankful. She felt like it should have been in between.

She still wondered who this Dagur guy was...the only time she had seen him and Hiccup react to each other, was when they were pounced by Dagur and his men. The only time she had heard them talk talk to each other was when they were yelling. The only ways that they looked at each other were harsh glares, mischievous smiles, and beyond angry frowns.

She would have to make a point to confront Hiccup about that and just ask him what in the world was going on between the two of them. Whatever it was, it went deep. Hiccup was never one to really hold a grudge...but if he were to hold something against Dagur and not even begin to look ready to forgive him at all, she imagined it was pretty bad...possibly unforgivable.

Yes, Valka would _definitely _have to talk to Hiccup about that. She couldn't help but continue to think about it as she stared at the contents of the satchel. Then, shaking herself out of her thoughtful remorse, she sauntered over to Hiccup slowly, not wanting to startle him.

She gently knelt down in front of him and shook him just as gently.

"Hiccup?" she asked timidly. He groaned and his eyes fluttered before opening fully.

"Where-?" he started before looking around again. "Right, right," he said finally. "Dagur's prison. Splendid. Just splendid."

At this Valka offered her son the water canteen, which he accepted, taking one quick sip before handing it back to her.

"How do you feel?" asked Valka.

"Like a Grockle head-butted me at full speed, but other than that, pretty good," Hiccup replied. He gestured to the water canteen she was holding. "So...what exactly happened?"

"Dagur," said Valka. "That _is _his name, right?" She asked, just to clarify.

Hiccup nodded, his eyes closing slightly. "Yeah," said Hiccup. "Dagur the Deranged."

Valka took the roll of gauze and instinctively wrapped it around Hiccup's head while he continued, "He's a Berserker. More than that, actually. He's the Berserker Chief."

Valka finishing bandaging his head and sat back, silently urging him to continue. When he didn't, Valka felt slightly disappointed. She didn't want to push the information...but she _had _to know what was going on between the two of them.

"What happened between you and Dagur?" asked Valka.

Hiccup sighed heavily. This was NOT a conversation he wanted to get into right now...but his mother looked desperate. She was already worried about him enough; better not worry her more by not answering her question.

"I guess it was my fault," said Hiccup, regret evident in his voice. "I didn't _want _to lie to him - it wasn't my intention - but if I didn't, tons of people could have died by Dagur's hand."

"Tell me, how did it start?" asked Valka, trying not to sound demanding or pushy.

"He was coming to renew the peace treaty between Berk and Berserk," Hiccup explained. Valka leaned forward, her eyes wide with interest. "My friends and I hid the dragons from him, just to make sure he didn't change his mind about keeping peace between our tribes. I told him that we _weren't_ training dragons, and...he kinda snapped when he learned the truth. Tried to kill me, and Toothless, actually." His mind gazed off at the mention of his beloved dragon. He still didn't know what Dagur had done to him, or where Dagur was keeping him.

"Go on," whispered Valka, just loud enough for him to hear.

"After that," said Hiccup, "the first fight lead to another, which instinctively lead to another, which lead to another - and before you know it, we're just - _boom_: Enemies. It didn't help when he kidnapped Dad, threatening to kill him...he would have, too, hadn't the other riders and I got there when we did. There's not much to the basic story, actually, Mom. I shouldn't have lied to him, though, but - what else do you really think I should have done?"

"Nothing," said Valka. "There was nothing different you could have done, Hiccup. Telling him the truth would have lead to war, and lying to him only postponed the war. But you can only postpone a battle for so long, Hiccup."

"I know," said Hiccup. "But I can't help but feel it's my fault. All of this-" He gestured to the entire cell with his hands, "-is my fault. And yes, I just gestured to _everything_."

"No one blames you, Hiccup," said Valka, shaking her head slightly.

"**I**blame me!" Hiccup responded, his voice rising suddenly, wavering just as much. He stopped suddenly, yelling just worsening the pain in his head. "We're at war with each other, Mom," he said. "And I don't think they'll be coming to renew the treaty this time."

"I know," Valka acknowledged solemnly.

Hiccup nodded before closing his eyes tightly. Valka knew he was obviously in pain, but there wasn't anything she could really do about that. There wasn't anything she could really do about anything. She felt so useless and helpless, but remained strong for Hiccup's sake.

"Sorry I dragged you into this," said Hiccup.

"Don't apologize," said Valka. "I would rather go through this with you than have you go through it alone." She smiled at him to which he smiled back at her, but she couldn't help but notice how blatantly _exhausted _he looked.

"You should rest," said Valka. "Multiple blows to the head can be dangerous, as I'm sure you well know."

Hiccup nodded, not even bothering to open his eyes. Valka moved over beside him again, offering comfort, which he accepted, leaning up against her instead of the wall. In just another instant, he was asleep again, leaving his mother to wonder what would happen to them while they were on this dreaded island.


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry for the short chapter here. I didn't mean it, honestly! I LOVE long chapters. I just thought this was a good-ish place to stop this one. Oooorr Not...**

**NOTE: This is my SECOND update today. If you missed the first update, or have any question that you did whatsoever, I request that you check. Chapters to this fic are all rather important, or else you just..y'know...don't know. :) Enjoy!**

Astrid surveyed their surroundings. They had been flying for a few hours now, and yet still nothing in sight. The dragons passed Breakneck Bog, but they didn't pay it heed. The dragons passed Dragon Island, yet again no heed. They passed Outcast Island, still not even noticing it.

"Anything yet?" asked Fishlegs hopefully.

"If we found anything yet, Fishlegs, you would already know," said Astrid, not even turning her head to meet his eyes. She was worried now...or, more so than she had been before. She stared out into the open sea, wondering where Hiccup and Valka could have been.

"This is so weird!" exclaimed Tuffnut. "It's like...he's _Hiccup_, and we're worried about him! It's not like anything could really happen to him, I mean...he's _Hiccup._"

Astrid wanted to believe Tuffnut. She couldn't believe Hiccup could ever...y'know..._die_...but as much as she felt she couldn't, she knew Hiccup wasn't invincible.

"Is that - an _island_?" Astrid suddenly heard Eret shout, bringing her from her thoughtful, trance-like state. She looked out and saw it. It _was _and island...

...if you could really even call it that.

It was more of a flat-ish mountain in the water. It was covered in spiky rocks that would have killed you were you dropped from even a distance as small as ten feet above it.

Stormfly and Skullcrusher grunted at the island before turning and landing on one of the very seldom non-rocky areas. The riders dismounted, looking around in disgust.

"Talk about a dark, soggy alone place," Tuffnut grumbled under his breath, just loud enough for them to hear.

And he was right. It was musty, misty, and completely deserted looking. The only thing that stood out amongst the rocks were rusty - were they _buildings_?

Stormfly sniffed the air before squawking. The dragon's ramble echoed dangerously through the area as if bounding off a log. Astrid shushed her dragon before moving forward slightly.

"Stay here," she told the dragons. She beckoned with her hand for Gobber, Eret, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut to follow her, which they proceeded to do, albeit slowly and painfully at first.

"Hiccup's here," whispered Astrid. "I just know it."

Astrid and the others looked around until they saw something that made their hearts stop for a split second. Docked on the shoreline to the island, where the land met the sea, were ten Berserker ships.

"Berserkers," muttered Fishlegs. "And - they have Hiccup, Toothless, Cloudjumper, _and_ Valka, don't they?"

No one answered, but no one needed to. They each already knew the answer, although they still couldn't believe it.

"Come on," said Astrid. "We have to find them."

She surveyed their surroundings with a keen eye. She looked over and saw something she thought could have been a prison chamber.

_But it shouldn't be this obvious, _said Astrid to herself. _It could be a trap...then again, it could be where they're really being held...but what if it is a trap?...oh darn it...this stinks. _

Astrid looked forward and decided that they would check the prison just out in the middle of no where. Upon approaching said establishment, Astrid noticed that the door was slightly ajar. Pushing it open the rest of the way, Astrid and the others entered cautiously.

It brought them to a steady hallway, torches alighted on either side, sloping downwards at a bizarre angle. Astrid and the others walked down it warily, mindful incase they slipped on descending.

It seemed like forever...but then finally made it to the bottom of the hallway. When they got there, they almost couldn't believe it.

"Toothless? Cloudjumper?" Astrid asked.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello my readers! Chapter 9 rolling into place! :) As always, some shout-outs!: **

**QueenAurora: Thank you, QueenAurora! I know. There's just something wonderful and awful about cliffhangers. You enjoy them, but at the same time, you hate them. :) I'm REALLY glad you like the story! I'll continue to post on it! :) **

**xFaerieValkyriex: That is a VERY cool opinion on what happens! It's going to be like, a 25 minute short, though, so I think there'll be more than just one race. I'm kinda hoping and thinking (this is JUST my opinion) that it will be the origin of the Dragon Races. I don't know, though, just a thought. Y'know, Dreamworks'll probably do something TOTALLY different and surprise ALL of us, though. LOL! So, that's my theory! :) Not much, probably horrible, but it's my theory. I hope Astrid and the gang find Val and Hic soon, too. Who knows what Dagur has in store? Well, I do, but who else? (hehehehe). Hopefully nothing too big, because if it is, Dagur had better get ready to deal with Toothless and Cloudjumper, not to mention Snotlout and Astrid, and not to mention Gobber and Eret, or Fishlegs, or Ruffnut and Tuffnut, or the entire island of Berk. :) **

**Other: Thanks to all who have stuck with me this long! I'm probably a REALLY annoying fanficker, just because I don't know when to stop updating (or HOW to stop updating). Maybe one of my future fanfics should be called "How Not To Stop Your Author From Updating." LOL! (that is a joke, by the way, I probably will never title my fanfiction that). Enjoy chapter 9! **

Valka didn't mean to fall asleep. It just happened. So when she woke up, she expected the worst.

She let out a cry in alarm, yelling silently at herself for sleeping. While she was asleep, Dagur could have come back for Hiccup...

...oh no...

..._Hiccup_...

She looked down slightly and saw Hiccup, laying on his side, curled up beside her. His eyes were closed tightly as if he were even in pain while just simply sleeping. His face was pale, although Valka couldn't see very well in the limited lighting, she could see enough to make it out.

She shook him slightly, worried for his well-being. He opened his eyes and squinted when he saw her kneeling in front of him.

"Hey," he whispered, sitting up.

"Hey," Valka answered back. "You doing okay?"

"As okay as I could be, under the circumstances," said Hiccup.

"That's not what I meant," said Valka.

"We're still in prison, aren't we?" Hiccup asked. He said it like he was stating the obvious; not questioning a fact.

Valka nodded, wishing she could have shook her head. "Yes, we are," she said. "How long does Dagur normally hold a grudge?"

"He's been mad at me for years," said Hiccup. "He'll probably hold everything against me to the death of either party."

"They really _don't _call him deranged for nothing," Valka murmured, intending that Hiccup wouldn't hear her. He did, though, and responded accordingly.

"No, they don't," he said.

They sat in silence for a few more minutes until Hiccup spoke again.

"Dagur will be here for me today, won't he?" He said it just as he had said "We're still in prison, aren't we?"; flatly, more statement than question.

Valka turned to him suddenly, meeting his emerald green eyes that mirrored her own; only his were full of pain, fear, and determination.

"How did you know?" asked Valka.

"I just guessed," said Hiccup. "Dagur doesn't like waiting very long, Mom. I of anyone would know that."

"So he's deranged and impatient," said Valka.

"I know, not the best combo," said Hiccup. Valka could hear the little hint of sarcasm evident in his voice, but it sounded more like nervous sarcasm...like he was second guessing himself. And it made Valka nervous.

Hiccup suddenly made a move to stand up. Valka wanted to stop him, but something made her hesitate. Hiccup stood up, wobbled slightly, and then began to pace the floor, trying to forget how much his head hurt.

Valka listened to the _step - clunk - step - clunk - step - clunk - step _of her son pacing back and forth. It made her dizzy just watching him, but didn't bring it up.

"Dagur the Deranged," Hiccup mumbled to himself. "The one person who still holds a grudge against me. We could have got captured by anyone!" He stopped suddenly, just for a moment, before presuming. "Dragons, pirates, some random other person who didn't like Berk, but _no_." He stopped walking, looking back at Valka. "It _had _to be Dagur. And it's my fault, too."

"Please stop blaming yourself," said Valka as he continued walking. "And - please stop pacing while you're at it, it's starting to give me a headache."

Hiccup stopped and turned to her before shifting his gaze back to the ground, suddenly finding interest in his prosthetic. Valka stood up and walked over to him. Although he knew when she was beside him, he pretended not to notice.

"Hiccup, I know you're scared," said Valka. "I am too. But we need to try and figure out a way to get out of here while we still have the chance."

"I know," said Hiccup. "I just-" He stopped suddenly, hearing a sound he feared. He walked over to the cell door and looked out as best he could. He saw an approaching torchlight, being held by he-wished-he-didn't-know-who.

Valka gasped. "Dagur's-" She started.

"I know," said Hiccup. _Wow_, thought Valka, _that's all he seems to say now._

"I'm going to let him take me, willingly," said Hiccup. Valka gasped again in terror this time.

"WHAT!?" she exclaimed.

"Fighting won't do anything," said Hiccup. "He'll get what he wants sooner than later. I'll think of something, but right now, you have to trust me."

"I _do _trust you!" said Valka. "It's _Dagur_ I don't trust!"

"Did someone say my name?" said we-know-who. Dagur approached the cell, torch in one hand, his other hand ready to grab his axe if he suddenly - _needed _it.

"Hello, Hiccup," said Dagur. "Hello, Valka."

Valka and Hiccup both hated the way Dagur said their names, but they both knew that telling him that at this point was dangerous. Dagur grabbed the keyring off his belt, searched through the fifteen keys it was holding, before picking out one in particular. Dagur slid said key into the lock, turned it, and allowed the door to swing open.

The creaking sound it made was so horrible, Valka was tempted to cover her ears; but she didn't. Dagur stepped away, his hand grasping the handle to his axe.

"You coming, Hiccup, or do I have to do a little - _persuading_?" he asked.

"I'm coming," said Hiccup, stepping out of the cell to Dagur's surprise. Valka couldn't help but notice how Hiccup was visibly shaking, wobbling unsteadily on his feet - er, _foot_. She tried to run out after him and Dagur, but failed when Dagur closed the cell door on her.

"Mom, trust me," said Hiccup. "I'll be back before you know it."

"Will you really, Hiccup?" asked Dagur, smiling at both people.

"I will if it's the end of me," said Hiccup.

"That could be arranged," said Dagur. "Never mind. Right now, though, Hiccup, we have some important business to discuss. So long, Valka." Dagur and Hiccup turned around, Dagur pushing Hiccup forward. Hiccup and Valka looked at each other one last time before they couldn't see each other anymore.

It was then at that time that Valka finally began to despair.


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello! Okay, in the last chapter, I forgot to mention that that was my THIRD update today. This chapter is my FOURTH, I believe (I kinda lost count. Oops). Now, some shout outs: **

**AnimeAngel: Aww! Thanks for the virtual soda! *accept it gratefully* You're so sweet! I'm glad you enjoy me updating quickly, too! I try not to be annoying with it...y'know... (Hiccup voice) I just see a fanfic and I just gotta...update it. You know, it's who I am, fans! :P**

**xFaerieValkyriex: "Dawn" kinda got me, too when I first heard the title. Dreamworks will make it good, I can guarantee that, no matter what the plot line. I mean, they have _DRAGONS_! You can't really mess up that easily! :D I'm lazy on just about everything but my school, my instruments, and my fanfictions. Everything else? Count me lazy for! :) I myself am excited about this fanfiction. The next two chapters after this one will be in Hiccup's POV, and then after that it will be in Valka's POV, and then back to the other Berkians on the search for the two missing Haddocks. So you can expect the worst for those four chapters. Lol. Seriously, though, be careful. Who knows what Dagur's got in store? **

**Other: THANKS a TON! (Imitating Hiccup's voice) This is AMAZING! YOU guys are AMAZING! Thanks SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO MUCH! Free pancakes with toppings of choice! If you don't like pancakes, choose another random food! :D Have fun with this chapter! **

"Toothless? Cloudjumper?"

Astrid looked and saw the two dragons, chained so their tails were just lightly grazing the ground, ropes around their muzzles, keeping their mouths shut **(they were chained the same way Toothless was chained in "We Are Family Part II")**. They both had their heads bowed until they heard Astrid's voice.

Toothless looked in front of him and saw Astrid racing towards them. He grunted as much as he could while muzzled, happy for one reason: now he could go look for Hiccup.

"Hang on, Toothless, hang on," said Astrid, yanking the ropes off his face before setting her axe to the chains. Beside her, Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut were working on Cloudjumper. Eret and Fishlegs raced towards Astrid to help her finish with Toothless while Gobber stood watch in front of the door.

As soon as the dragons were unchained, Astrid was able to assess their conditions. They both looked more worn out than before, but other than that, fine. Astrid could only hope Valka and Hiccup weren't in a worse position.

Toothless pounced around the room, sniffing around at random objects, trying to pick up his rider's scent. Cloudjumper was doing the same thing.

"Toothless, Cloudjumper!" shouted Astrid. "Come on, guys! We need to go _out there _to save Hiccup and Valka!"

Toothless and Cloudjumper both turned suddenly, facing towards the way out. The humans and dragons scrambled back up the steep hallway, trying to keep their balance as much as they could, although it was nearly impossible going up.

At length, although it seemed like forever, they finally made it to the top, panting like mad.

Astrid looked around, still gasping for much-needed oxygen, just as the other people and dragons were doing behind her.

"Do you have any idea where they're being kept?" asked Eret through bouts of his own gasping.

"Dagur won't be hiding them in plain view," said Astrid. "I mean...he already hid them on an undiscovered island. I don't think he wants us to find them."

"Obviously," said Tuffnut. "Or else he would put a sign up that says 'This way to the prisoners! Free admission!'"

"Be cool if they did though," Ruffnut complained.

"Guys!" Fishlegs exclaimed. "We have to _find _them!"

"I say we split up," said Snotlout.

"No, we can't do that," said Astrid. "There were ten Berserker ships docked on the shore, each possibly carrying up to thirty crewmates. If we split up, we'll be vulnerable. No, we have to stay together."

"The girl's got a point," said Gobber.

"Where do we look first?" asked Fishlegs.

"I say we circle the island, moving inward every now and then," Astrid suggested. "How else are we going to cover everything?"

"We split up," mumbled Tuffnut, earning an elbow in the side from Snotlout.

"Okay then," said Astrid. "Let's go get our dragons and start searching. We don't know how much time we have."

As they ran back to the spot where the dragons were waiting patiently, Astrid couldn't help but hope they had more time than she feared they were running out of. She couldn't imagine what Dagur was doing to Hiccup, and if she could, she didn't want to. It only made her feel worse.

Once they were back with their dragons, the others mounted theirs while Astrid mounted Toothless, knowing he couldn't fly on his own. She gave Stormfly the "follow" command and nodded to Cloudjumper, knowing that he would follow without even being told. He was a smart dragon, as were all Stormcutters, and Astrid trusted him to know what he was doing.

As the riders took off, flying close to the ground over the island, starting at the East shore and circling it, Astrid's mind wandered to Hiccup and Valka. She loved them both equally, but was thinking more about Hiccup than Valka. She had personally known Hiccup for five years, and had only known Valka for three months. She was worried for both of them, but knew Dagur would do for Hiccup over Valka any time, any day.

"Don't worry, Hiccup," said Astrid. "We're coming for you."


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello! A few shout outs: **

**AnimeAngel: You have such a sweet heart! It takes a really humble person to admit when they were wrong, and I respect that. Thank you! **

**Other: This is my FIFTH update today I believe, if I have been counting correctly. Sorry in advance for the HUGE cliffhanger here, and thank you to all who have stayed with me for this long! Now, shall we get on with it? On with the show! **

**Hiccup's POV**

He was lead by his enemy's hand, and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. He felt useless; helpless, awful; guilty; and yet at the same time, sorry. He was sorry he had to drag his mother into this; he couldn't get her out of his head. The last look she gave him; a look of worry, of longing, a look of just wanting to give Dagur a bout of his own medicine and force him to down it.

Dagur stood behind Hiccup, pushing him forward whenever Hiccup paused. He thought if his headache got any worse, he would just die, or his head would explode. Well, if his head exploded he would die, so it was really both.

He wished he had more experience with a sword, but Dagur had taken Inferno from him, presumably when he was knocked out. Dagur was smart enough not to leave Hiccup with a weapon. Or, at least he appeared to be.

Dagur lead Hiccup through the hallway. The path was always curving in awkward directions, making it near to impossible to really follow, but Hiccup did it nonetheless. He was Chief of Berk. People were counting on him to make it out alive. Be the great leader they wanted him to be.

And that was exactly what he was going to do.

But, the more he thought about it...

...great leaders are also often proved wrong...He remembered himself saying that same line to Fishlegs before **(see episode "A Tale of Two Dragons" for information on this. Hysterical episode, by the way. Had me laughing)** not too many years before this. Now his past words were coming to haunt him.

"I have big plans for you, Hiccup," said Dagur, a little too enthusiastically. "Big plans."

"I'm sure you do," Hiccup mumbled, earning a harsh shove from Dagur that nearly sent him to his knees. Luckily, he regained his balance at the last second, only to be shoved again for pausing.

Dagur came up to a place in the hallway where it split in two parts: the left side sloping upwards, the right side continuing on at the same level. Dagur pushed Hiccup to the right side.

It was then that Hiccup realized that it wasn't another tunnel, but a specific room. The walls were earthen, and the roof was made from bars, much like the bars of the prison Valka and Hiccup had been held in, only over your head instead of by your side.

Dagur turned around once Hiccup was in, hung his torch on the wall, and shut the rusty, metal door. The torch and the ceiling gave off enough lighting for Hiccup to see Dagur without the effort.

"So, Hiccup," said Dagur, "now we get down to business. But first..." Dagur pulled something out of who-knows-where and tossed it to Hiccup. It took Hiccup a moment to register something was being thrown at him, no thanks to the throbbing in his head, but he managed to catch it before it hit him on the head again. When he examined it, he found it to be...

"Inferno?" he asked.

Dagur looked to Hiccup. "I can't just take your weapon and keep it, Hiccup," he said smugly. "There's no fun in that, you see. Yes, Hiccup, we're going to have a little _fun_, you and me."

"Great, I'll grab my party hat," Hiccup said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. Dagur remained unfazed, yet Hiccup could tell he was getting a little angry at his opponent.

"I have come here to ask you some very important questions," said Dagur. "After you answer, maybe I'll think about sparing you. Just so you could see the ones you love - _die _right before your eyes, without being able to do anything to stop it."

Hiccup tightened his grip around Inferno's hilt. Dagur looked and saw him doing this. He smiled, and Hiccup realized that's what Dagur wanted; to drive Hiccup to the point where he would battle him.

"If you don't answer," said Dagur, "I'll make sure your death is slow and agonizing. But before you die, I'll bring your mother and precious dragon in, and you know what I'll do, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third?"

Hiccup almost clicked the trigger to Inferno's dragon blade, but resisted the urge. He wouldn't fall into Dagur's trap; not yet.

"I'll kill them," said Dagur. "And I'll make sure you realize that it will be YOUR FAULT!"

Hiccup gritted his teeth, using all of his willpower to ignore the pain in his head, and ignore what Dagur was saying at the same time. Dagur's words still sank into him, though. He heard every one of them despite how he was trying to do the exact opposite.

"Why don't you respond?" asked Dagur. "Speak up! Tell me I'm wrong! No...wait...that's RIGHT!" He grinned. "You CAN'T tell me I'm wrong, because you know I'm RIGHT!"

Dagur moved closer to Hiccup, their faces just inches away from each other.

"So, Hiccup," said Dagur. "Tell me all of Berk's secrets, and I'll let you go alive. And I might keep your Night Fury, and Valka alive, too."

Hiccup didn't respond. He was so tempted to just draw his sword and finish Dagur then at that moment...it was set up perfectly. He just had to hold up his sword, and trigger the blade and Dagur would be gone. But something made him hesitate.

"Answer me, Hiccup," said Dagur.

"No," said Hiccup. "No, I refuse. I WILL NOT tell you anything, Dagur. I will NOT tell you Berk's secrets. I would rather DIE than tell you Berk's secrets."

"And what about...your mother? Your dragon?" asked Dagur.

Hiccup felt awful. He couldn't tell Dagur Berk's secrets, but he couldn't turn on his mother. He knew Dagur wasn't really a man of his word, so if Hiccup DID tell him all of Berk's secrets, Dagur would turn right around and kill him, Toothless, and Valka.

"They would want to do the same," said Hiccup. "Die without telling you a single word."

Dagur smiled. "Fine," he said. "And you think you're the smart one. Wait until I send you back to prison. Wait until I bring the Berkians here. Wait until I kill them, one by one, right in front of your very eyes. I don't need Berk's secrets to attack, Hiccup! Sure, they'll help; but I don't need them. What would Astrid say to you, Hiccup? What would your _father _say?"

Hiccup snapped. He clicked Inferno and lunged at Dagur. Dagur drew his axe and fended off Hiccup. The blades were pressed up against each other, Hiccup pushing against Dagur's, and Dagur pushing against Hiccup's.

"Perfect," said Dagur. "Now we fight."

Dagur threw back his weapon all at once, catching Hiccup by surprise. As his axe clattered to the ground, Dagur drew a small knife and began to fight Hiccup with it. Boy, he was _good. _Hiccup's advantage, though?

His blade was alight with fire.

Dagur singed his hand on Hiccup's blade, causing him to wince. Hiccup took the face of action, moving swiftly towards Dagur. Dagur stepped back, regained his axe, and swung it at Hiccup.

Hiccup dodged, but not quite fast enough. The blade sliced across his arm, leaving a deep gash that started pulsing out blood immediately.

Hiccup cried out in pain, but continued to fend off Dagur none the less. But then Dagur made one mistake; he had his focus on Hiccup's arm, not Hiccup's weapon. Hiccup swung, knocking the axe and dagger out of Dagur's hands. Instantly, Hiccup tripped Dagur with his metal leg, leaving Dagur to fall to his knees.

Hiccup pointed Inferno at Dagur, leaving it just a few inches away from his neck. Dagur smiled.

"And so it ends," said Dagur. "Kill me."

Hiccup gripped Inferno's hilt in both his hands, raised the blade over his head, and...


	12. Chapter 12

**WOW! I really never thought I would get this far! You guys are so awesome! Maybe seven more chapters to go! :) YAY YAY YAY YAY! And then I can get started on "This...is Berk." Also: "This...is Berk" will be a one-shot series, and I REALLY need some suggestions on what to do for it! So, if you have any, tell me! :) Note: I can't do Sickfics or Deathfics, so please refrain from asking for those. I CAN, however, to Hurtfics (is that what you call them?) and Humor fics. :) I enjoy those both, too. Now, enough of me talking, and here's some shout outs: **

**snoopykid: Lol! I know, I felt AWFUL giving you guys this cliffhanger but...hey, it had to be done, or else it would be boring! :) Thanks for reviewing! **

**AnimeAngel: Well, I'm glad you like cliffhangers! I guess having me as your author, you kinda _have _to like them, and if you don't, you have to get used to them, lol! It's true, though, which is the sad part. :) **

**xFaerieValkyriex: Haha! Yeah, poor Hiccup. I don't know what I would do in his situation, either. But I guess you find out now, huh, in this chapter? :)**

**Other: Thanks to all who read! **

**Hiccup's POV**

...threw the sword off to the side. Dagur looked up at Hiccup in shock as the blade clattered against the ground, still alight with fire. Upon hitting the ground, the trigger was bumped, causing the blade to retract.

Hiccup stood over Dagur, Dagur staring at the young Chief in disbelief. Hiccup had sweat dripping off his forehead, and he was breathing heavily from the battle...but why hadn't he killed Dagur?

It should have been easily; bring down the blade, kill the Berserker Chief, free his Mother, his dragon, her dragon, return to Berk, come back here, defeat the Berserkers...but he just _didn't kill him. _

Maybe it was because of how selfless Hiccup was. He couldn't bring himself to kill Toothless when they first met, and he couldn't bring himself to kill Dagur now. Only difference was, Dagur looked amused, not terrified out of his wits.

"I knew you couldn't do it," said Dagur. "Even when you had _nothing _to _lose! _You're a worthless weakling, Hiccup!_"_

Hiccup ignored him. Dagur stood up suddenly and kicked Hiccup in the stomach, sending him stumbling backwards. Dagur walked over to him and kicked him again.

"You'll regret this moment, Hiccup," said Dagur. "Maybe I'll let you live. Just let you suffer. After I kill your friends...your family...not to mention the nightmares that'll haunt you for the rest of your life."

Hiccup coughed as Dagur kicked him again. "At least...at least I HAVE a life!" Hiccup made out, earning another kick from Dagur.

"Runt," Dagur smirked. "Nothing but a worthless runt."

"Maybe," said Hiccup. "But at least I'm not a deranged, barbaric maniac!"

Dagur grabbed Hiccup's bad arm, making sure he grabbed the bad one, before yanking Hiccup to his feet. Hiccup nearly collapsed, his legs too weak to hold up his own body. He would have collapsed and curled into himself right on spot if Dagur hadn't been standing there...

_...watching his every move..._

"Get up," Dagur ordered. Hiccup's head swam as he was shoved back out the door by Dagur. He tripped and fell nearly four times on the short walk back, every time earning another harsh yank from Dagur on his bad arm, and an occasional kick.

He felt awful both physically and consciously. He felt like he had failed his entire island; not even being able to kill the enemy who so richly wanted to kill him.

Once they were back at the cell, Dagur unlocked the door, yanked it wide open, and tossed Hiccup inside. Hiccup started coughing immediately, choking on the dusty air of the prison he was in, trying not to breathe it, but at the same time, trying desperately to get the air back in his lungs. Hiccup was vaguely aware of someone catching him, speaking to him, calling him, but he couldn't make out the words. Everything sounded as though you were at the bottom of a swimming pool, trying to say the Periodic Table of elements in Chinese, had Hiccup known what Chinese was.

He knew Dagur was leaving, but before he left, he heard something clank on the floor, and then Dagur's voice speaking clearly in his head:

"I'll be back tomorrow to finish the job. Maybe by then you'll have changed your mind." Then, Hiccup was unconscious, just as fast as Dagur's torchlight vanished, leaving Hiccup in his cell...terrified, not on what had just took place, but what was yet to come in the future.


	13. Chapter 13

**Hello! First off, this is my SECOND update today, so if you missed the first update, please be sure to go back and check it out! Thanks! Now, as for the shout-outs: **

**Guest: THAT WOULD be an interesting twist! Although since I've already got the story planned out in my head, so to speak, I don't think I'll be doing that in this story. But who knows! Maybe I'll try it in a future story! :) Thank you for reviewing! I love hearing what you all think! **

**xFaerieValkyriex: Here! You can borrow my axe! *tosses said user double-bladed weapon*. Hahaha! No, seriously, though, in a way, I want Hiccup to kill Dagur, but in another way, Hiccup would NEVER kill Dagur. I don't think he'd have it in him. :) :( Both smiley faces for both thoughts. I'm SO GLAD you enjoy reading it! Yeah, Dagur is a "bit of a loose cannon ball" (quoting Alvin the Treacherous from "Cast Out Part I"). :) For once, Alvin, I agree with you. Hahaha!**

**QueenAurora: Yeah, I often feel the same way while reading other books. I come to a cliffhanger and I just sit there like..."WHAT DID I EVER DO TO YOU!?" But at the same time, I LOVE cliffhangers, because they really keep ya going. I have a love/hate problem with Cliffhangers, I suppose. :) Don't we all? **

**AmineAngel: I'm not so sure I _want _to know exactly how that would end. Berk would win though, because they have DRAGONS! :) **

**Other: I will be starting a one-shot series after this one, so please ask me if you have any requests! I REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY RREEEEAAALLLLLLLYYYY need some! Thanks to all! Now, on with the chapter! Free virtual pie of your choice! **

**Valka's POV **_**(previous chapter)**_

Valka watched as Dagur's torchlight disappeared, feeling vulnerable and defenseless. She waited at the door, gripping the rusty cell bars with her hands until her knuckles turned white. When she finally released her hold on the bars, her hands were coated in rusty hue. She brushed them together a few times, managing to get all of it off.

She began to pace restlessly, just as Hiccup had done before Dagur took him. She was worried out of her mind on what Dagur could have possibly been doing to her son. She didn't even know if Dagur was planning on letting him _live..._

...No. He had to live. He just HAD to...

...because Valka didn't know what she would do if he didn't. He meant so much to very; so very very very very VERY much to her. He reminded her so much of his father...a born leader, stubborn, brave, selfless...yes. Much like his father.

Valka continued to pace, her mind racing. When Dagur came back with Hiccup, she and he were going to get out. Maybe when Dagur got back Valka could knock him out and take the keys. Perfect! He would come in, open the door, and then she would run out, knock him over, grab his axe, smack him on his head by the flat part of it, and then leave.

It was perfect.

Or so she thought...

She wasn't prepared for what she found when Dagur came back to the cell, shoving a half-conscious Hiccup with him. As soon as the light of the torch was in sight, Valka took to her plan; hiding in the one spot where she could see him, but he couldn't see her.

_Wait for it...wait for it...wait for it..._she told herself over and over and over, waiting for just the right moment to jump out and attack.

She listened and watched as Dagur turned the key in the lock. But then Valka saw something that nearly made her heart stop.

Dagur opened the door, Valka too stunned to do anything like she had planned it. She saw Dagur toss Hiccup in, and instantly, her motherly instincts kicked in. She ran forward and braced Hiccup under his arms as he slumped forward into the cell.

"Hiccup!" Valka shouted. Hiccup didn't respond. His eyes were barely open, his breathing heavy and slightly irregular. "Stay with me, Hiccup," Valka begged, tears filling her eyes. "It's okay. You're okay." But one look at him told her that he wasn't. His arm was bleeding at an alarming rate, and he was pale all over. Although he was conscious, his body was limp, as if he had no control over it.

Dagur smiled and chuckled as Valka eased Hiccup down, still keeping her arms positioned around him in a protecting-like manner.

"What did you do to him?!" Valka yelled.

"Simply showed him who the weak link in the chain was," said Dagur, not even caring about what he was really saying, or even thinking twice about it before he did. He tossed something inside and closed the cell door, Valka not even caring that she hadn't reacted as she intended. Looking over in the corner of her eye Valka noticed Dagur had tossed in another satchel, filled with who-knows-what.

Hiccup coughed violently from where he was laying in Valka's arms, and she held onto him, trying to soothe his obvious pain. She kept repeating statements such as "It's okay, you're okay, I'm here, I've got you, he can't hurt you" while smoothing his hair with her hand.

Dagur smiled slightly, looking on at mother and son as if it were amusing.

Valka looked up at Dagur and caught his gaze. "You filthy monster," Valka hissed through clenched teeth, looking directly at Dagur as she spoke. If glares could kill you, Dagur would have been dead by Valka's a fair few times just in the past fifteen seconds. Dagur only smiled and then looked at Hiccup.

"I'll be back tomorrow to finish the job," said Dagur, earning yet another death glare from Valka. How _DARE _he do something like this to Hiccup!? Who did he think he was!? "Maybe by then you'll have changed your mind."

Dagur turned and left, taking the only real source of light with him. Valka held tighter to her son as he continued to cough. Valka gasped when his coughing stopped all of a sudden and he slumped even more so than before.

"Hiccup!?" Valka asked, pulling away to look at his face. Now his eyes were closed, and it didn't take a genius to know he was unconscious. Valka looked on in worry as she took notice of Hiccup's arm again.

Valka reached over, leaning Hiccup's back up against her chest as she grabbed the satchel Dagur had left them, hoping to find something that would help. She opened it, finding another water canteen and now _two _rolls of gauze.

This time, Valka knew that she hated Dagur, but she also knew she was thankful for the gauze more than anything. Hiccup's blood loss could have easily rivaled to Death Valley, and she couldn't - no - she _wouldn't _let that happen.

She gently lifted his arm in one hand while holding their half-filled water canteen from earlier and gently pouring it over his wound. He moaned softly, his eyes squeezing shut tighter, and Valka couldn't stop saying sorry through her sobs.

Once she had cleaned it as best as she could, she wrapped his arm with gauze, once again taking extreme care in the area she knew was hurt the worst. She put down the extra roll of gauze, saving it for when she needed to change his current one.

Valka carefully wrapped her arms around her son's torso, being sure not to hold on too tight for fear she would accidently hurt him more so than he already was. She allowed tears to fall silently as she thought about how _cruel _Dagur was, and the fact that with Hiccup like this, getting out of here would only be harder.

Not only that, but Toothless and Cloudjumper were also chained up somewhere else, and Valka couldn't leave without Cloudjumper, and Hiccup would NEVER EVER leave without Toothless, even if his very life depended on it. Their bond was stronger than Gronckle Iron.

Looking in the satchel, Valka also saw that for some reason, Dagur had put Inferno in it. She picked it up carefully, not knowing where the triggers were. Hiccup had shown it to her a fair few times in the past, but she still didn't have the slightest idea on how to work it.

She carefully sat it down again as if it were a grenade with a half-pulled key, not wanting to unleash the blade by mistake and not know how to put it back. She was worried out of her wits.

She could only hope the people back on Berk were coming for them...

...because she didn't know how much longer Hiccup could hold out.


	14. Chapter 14

**Hello! Chapter 14, rolling into place! Enjoy! At least this chapter isn't as cliffy or terrible as some of the previous ones. It's more on a happy note than a gloomy one. :) Shout outs: **

**QueenAurora: Lol! Yeah, cliffhangers. Keeps your readers in suspense! :) **

**All: This is my THIRD update today, just so you all know. If you missed updates one and two, please go back and make sure you read them! In these stories, every chapter is important. :) Thanks to all! Chapter 15 should be out pretty soon as well; maybe in the next hour or two. Thanks again! Here's the chapter:**

**The Riders' POVs**

It should have been easy. Simple task such as this: Find Hiccup and Valka Haddock on a strange, barely inhabited, mountain-like island. It really SHOULD have been easy, especially for the Great Astrid Hofferson.

Problem was, it wasn't as easy as one would hope or think. First of all, Dagur obviously didn't want Valka or Hiccup to be found. It was obvious; painfully obvious.

"Look around for anything that could look like a prison," said Astrid to the other riders. They regarded her carefully, looking down below for any sign of Valka or Hiccup.

Out of all the dragons, Toothless and Cloudjumper were the most frantic. They swooped as low as they dared, sometimes too close, but Astrid didn't stop either one of them. She herself was glad Toothless was stooping close, that way if she saw something Toothless didn't, she could call out to the others and beckon them towards it.

"I don't see anything," said Snotlout, worry evident in his voice. "Are you sure they're even here?"

"Positive," said Astrid. "Stormfly's an excellent tracker."

"So is Skullcrusher," said Gobber. "We used him to find Hiccup months ago, and he hasn't lost his touch."

As if emphasizing the point, Skullcrusher brayed softly, sniffing the air. Stormfly was doing the same, until suddenly both dragons let out a short, edgy sounding roar.

"What is it, girl?" asked Astrid, reaching towards her dragon from where she was sitting on Toothless. Stormfly disregarded her human and eyed the ground below.

Eret turned to Astrid, and she noticed Skullcrusher was doing the same thing Stormfly was.

"Stormfly, show," Astrid commanded. Stormfly nodded this time before flying down towards the middle of the mountain-like structure the island was. She landed, followed by the other riders and their dragons.

"Oh this is just _great_," said Snotlout. "The tracker dragons took us to a mountain."

Astrid dismounted Toothless, who followed her closely as she put her hand on the side of the mountain. "No," she said, moving her hand. "It's not just a mountain."

All eyes were on her, and she knew it without even turning around to make sure.

"What do you mean it's not just a mountain?" Eret was the first one to speak up after Astrid.

"Look," Astrid pointed as she spoke. Two rocks were clasped together with a small crack between them.

"I don't see anything," said Tuffnut.

"Shh!" Ruffnut ordered.

Astrid gripped one of the rocks, her fingers just barely fitting through the crack, before yanking on it suddenly. The rock moved a half inch away from the other, and instantly everyone understood.

They leaped off their dragons and raced over, grasping the rock just as Astrid had, waiting for a command.

"Okay, on three," said Astrid. "Ready?"

"Ready," came the reply.

"One - two - three!" They all yanked at the exact same moment. This time, the rock moved a few more inches.

"Again!" said Astrid. "One - two - three!"

They yanked harder this time, bringing the rock another extra few inches.

"One more time," said Astrid. "One - two - ahh!"

Before they could yank it again, Toothless raced forward and fired a plasma blast at the now almost seven inch long gap. The plasma blast blasted both rocks away from each other instantly.

"Smoking dragon claws!" shouted Snotlout, looking at the rocks, and then back to his fingers, admiring some small cuts he had acquired while pulling on the stone. "Why didn't we just start with that!?"

Toothless instantly bolted in between the rocks before Astrid could even see what was behind them. When she did, she saw that it was another hallway headed downwards, only this time, pitch black.

Toothless had just bolted in there without a second thought.

"Toothless wait!" shouted Astrid, running in after him, tripping over her own feet as she tried to keep up with the dragon. Cloudjumper and the other dragons tried to fit inside the entrance, but they were too big. So they settled for sitting, waiting for something to happen.

As Astrid ran after Toothless, Snotlout turned, grabbed a stick off the ground, and held it up to Hookfang. Hookfang snorted, but made no other move to do what Snotlout wanted him to.

"Hookfang, this is important!" shouted Snotlout. "Stubborn dragon!"

Hookfang snorted again, desperate to prove Snotlout wrong, and this time breathed a little bit of fire towards the stick, lighting it like a torch. Snotlout then turned and ran down the hallway after Astrid, telling the others to wait guard with the dragons.

The hallway continued to go downwards, but Astrid didn't notice. When the ground became flat again, she looked around, trying to find out which way to go.

Snotlout ran in behind her, holding his source of light.

"Thanks, Snotlout," said Astrid. Wait...had she just _thanked _him? That's something she never thought she would do.

"Ah, no problem," said Snotlout. "Now, let's go get Hiccup."

Astrid and Snotlout ran again, following Toothless. Astrid looked behind her, seeing that there was another pathway. She decided that if Valka and Hiccup weren't found down this current one, she and Snotlout would go back and check the other one.

She suddenly heard Toothless roar frantically. Turning to Snotlout, it was obvious that he had heard it, too. Both Snotlout and Astrid quickened their pace until they found Toothless, grunting and bouncing around happily in front of what looked like a cell door.

When Snotlout and Astrid neared it close enough to see what Toothless seemed to excited about, Snotlout nearly dropped the torch, and Astrid was so happy she could have cried.

"Hiccup!" she shouted.


	15. Chapter 15

_**HEY HEY HEY! **_**So, this is my FORTH update today, for those who were wondering. I really need some new ideas for my one shot series coming after this fic's finished. Any ideas? I am WIDE WIDE WIDE WIDE WIDE open! Here's chapter 15: **

_**(Previous chapter in Valka's POV, then switching to Normal POV)...**_

Valka held Hiccup in her arms, not wanting to let him go ever again. She sat in the same place Dagur had left them; close to the cell door, just a few feet away from the middle of said cell.

Valka couldn't even begin to think on what would happen when Dagur got back. She just couldn't bring herself to do so. When Dagur got back, Valka would give him a piece of her mind. She would make him be afraid to ever capture any Berkian ever again. What would you do to someone like Dagur? More importantly, what_ wouldn't_ you do to someone like that? Someone who nearly killed the only family you had left.

Yes, she would make Dagur _pay_. If he knew what was best for him, he would never return to that cell as long as he lived. He was going to face the wrath of Valka Haddock, no matter how it ended.

She couldn't let Dagur get away with all...this (yes, she just gestured to _all _of it). She just couldn't, and she wouldn't.

She suddenly heard shouting. It was muffled, so she couldn't make out what whoever was shouting was saying. Then she heard something that sounded like...was that a _roar_? Then, she heard footsteps. But they were heavy and persistent, like someone with four legs tromping around in shoes too big for them...

..._or a dragon_...

Valka hoped it was a dragon, but knew she couldn't get her hopes up. For all she knew, it could have been a wild dragon, which wouldn't have been bad if Hiccup had been at least conscious. She couldn't tame a wild dragon and protect Hiccup at the same time.

She instinctively tightened her grip around Hiccup and closed her eyes, waiting for something horrible to happen...

...but it never did. The footsteps stopped, replaced by a roar that a Night Fury would make...

...but there was only one Night Fury...

...and that was...

"Toothless?" Valka asked, looking in front of the cell. She couldn't even begin to explain how thankful and just completely happy and joyful she was when she saw that the dragon was indeed Toothless.

"Toothless!" shouted Valka, unable to stop the smile that spread across her face. Said Night Fury bounded around, braying and grunting happily. Valka almost forgot how bad their situation was.

Almost.

Not quite.

She then saw something else that made her smile turn into fear. She saw a torchlight...and so far whenever she saw a torchlight, it turned out to be...

...oh no, not him...

...not now...

She was just about to tell Toothless to hide, when the torch holder came into view, followed by another young girl. Toothless disregarded them both, meaning neither of them were a threat. As soon as Valka's eyes adjusted to the light, she was able to make out the two figures.

"Hiccup!" shouted Astrid.

"Astrid!" shouted Valka. "Snotlout! Oh, you have absolutely _no idea _how happy I am to see you guys!"

Toothless grunted again as if emphasizing the point. Astrid looked at Valka, and then shifted her eyes to Hiccup.

She gasped quickly, her hands flying to her mouth as she kneeled down in front of the cell.

"Hiccup?" she asked, hopefully. He didn't respond. "Hiccup, please wake up," she begged, again getting to response. Astrid looked to Valka for an answer, and the woman offered one as Snotlout began trying to pick the door's lock.

"He's unconscious," said Valka. "He's been in and out of it since we got here."

"How...did Dagur do this!?" Astrid asked, her voice rising and wavering as anger and hatred set in. She gritted her teeth when Valka nodded.

"That...that...words can't even BEGIN to describe it!" shouted Astrid. "How...how COULD he DO something like THIS!? And to HICCUP out of ALL people! HOW DARE HE!?"

Valka and Astrid locked eyes. Astrid's blue ones were brimming with tears, and Valka's green ones were doing none different. They were in utter shock onto how Dagur would get the guts to do something.

Snotlout groaned from where he was working on the lock. "I can't do it," he said, yanking the lock harshly one more time. "We need the key-"

Just before Snotlout finished the word "key", Toothless breathed in, and then shot a single plasma blast directly at the lock. Instantly, the lock exploded, the door creaking open.

"Again, why didn't we do that first?" asked Snotlout, looking at Toothless, shrugging his shoulders. Toothless, Astrid and Snotlout immediately ran inside the prison, kneeling in front of Valka.

Toothless looked at Hiccup, crooned worriedly, and nudged his cheek slightly. Hiccup responded by groaning slightly. It made Astrid's heart bleed to see him like this. It made her just want to wrap her loving hands around Dagur's scrawny little neck and throttle him until he was sorry for his actions.

Toothless nudged his rider again, and this time, Hiccup's eyes fluttered slightly before opening halfway. He squinted at the light of the torch Snotlout was holding, still trying to register what in the world was going on.

The first thing he felt was pain. Pain in his arm, pain in his head, pain in his stomach (from where Dagur kicked him) - pretty much pain everything. The second thing he felt were arms wrapped securely around him. He soon realized he was being held in his mother's tight embrace, which made him relax.

The third thing he noticed was that they weren't alone. There was something touching his cheek, and it looked like there were two more people kneeling in front of him. He looked, and once his eyes adjusted, he saw.

"Toothless?" he asked, annoyed at how scratchy and weak his voice sounded. Toothless suddenly bounded a quick circle around Valka and Hiccup before coming back to Hiccup, nudging him again. Hiccup out up his good arm - his left one - and pet the dragon's head.

Astrid, as soon as she realized Hiccup was awake enough to register Toothless beside him, gently moved towards him closer, not wanting to accidently scare him. But he looked to her as soon as he saw her and smiled. She smiled back, tears falling from her eyes.

"Are...are y-you..._crying_?" he asked in a broken voice.

Astrid quickly wiped away her tears. She had to be strong for him now. They weren't safe yet.

"You..." Astrid started. "You _really scared me_, Hiccup. I came to get your help with Hookfang and you just weren't there and...I don't know...I thought something had happened, and I was just...panicking."

"You weren't wrong," whispered Hiccup, closing his eyes slightly again. "Something _did _happen."

"Guys, I would hate to break up the tender moment, but we should probably get out of here before Dagur realizes we busted his operation," Snotlout suggested, looking behind him as if expecting something to jump out and attack them.

"Right," said Valka. "Hiccup, do you think you could stand if I help you?"

"Probably," he nodded, but as began to shift, he cried out in pain again. Astrid and Valka held their breaths as he sighed heavily. "No, actually, I don't think so," Hiccup mumbled.

"It's okay," said Astrid suddenly. "We just need to get you on Toothless, and he can take you out of here. Toothless?" She turned as said dragon knelt down, basically in a laying position, in front of Hiccup.

Valka, Astrid and Snotlout all helped on getting Hiccup on Toothless, not because it was hard, but because he kept moaning in pain, and they froze in their tracks, afraid to hurt him again.

Eventually, he was on Toothless' back, although as soon as he was, he nearly fell backwards again. Valka caught him and steadied him before determining that he couldn't ride Toothless alone, so she jumped on behind him, wrapping her arms around his stomach so he leaned against her chest. Almost instantly, he closed his eyes, although still remaining conscious.

"That filthy Dagur," said Astrid growled deeply under her breath, although everyone could hear her. "He better hope that _I NEVER _see him again, for the sake of his life."

"He better hope no Berkian ever sees him again," Snotlout agreed. Astrid reached down and noticed Inferno laying on the ground. She picked it up, put it in Toothless' saddle bag before nodding warily to Toothless. The five of them made their way out, following the tunnels, using Snotlout's still burning (but just barely) torch as their light. Soon, they were at the section where the tunnels split. One of them had light streaming from the top of it.

"That way," Astrid ordered Toothless. Toothless nodded, already knowing which way to go thanks to good memory, and carefully began heaving upwards, not letting himself loose his footing even once.

As soon as they were back at the top, Toothless stepped out, relieved to be out of that tunnel. Everyone instantly looked at the dragon and saw who was mounted on them.

"Hiccup! Valka!" shouted Gobber, Eret, Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut in unison, running over to them. Cloudjumper raced over to Valka, and the two rubbed their heads together in greeting, Valka and the Stormcutter both smiling.

Astrid and Snotlout emerged shortly after, covered in dirt from all the tripping on their way up. Snotlout's torch flickered at a halfway point, leaving them to stumble in the darkness.

"We should get back to Berk," said Gobber after taking one look at Hiccup's condition. He had opened his eyes and stayed awake long enough to say hi, but was now once again oblivious to the world.

Valka nodded. "But I wouldn't mind giving Dagur a piece of my mind," she muttered.

"None of us would," said Gobber.

"How about, you go 'head, and I'll stay here and beat this Dagur guy until he comes and apologizes himself?" Eret asked, knocking one balled fist into his opposite palm.

"That would be great, Eret, but no," said Astrid. "Right now, we all have to get back to Berk together without risking being captured again. Besides, they'll be plenty of time for that later."

Valka nodded. "Do you think you could fly Toothless, Astrid?" she asked. "Hiccup's never really showed me how to work the tail, and he can't do it himself for obvious reasons..."

"Right," said Astrid. She and Snotlout helped Valka get Hiccup onto Cloudjumper. Once they did, Valka jumped on herself, still holding onto Hiccup tightly, not daring to let go.

Astrid mounted Toothless shortly after, gave Stormfly the follow command, and together, the dragons and riders took to the air.

Home couldn't wait.

Dagur strode around the island in a casual like fashion. Some of his passerby soldiers nodded to him, but there was something..._off_.

"Sir," one of the soldiers finally built up enough guts to speak to Dagur, "the dragons are missing."

"WHAT!?" shouted Dagur, turning suddenly to the soldier.

"The dragons are-"

"I KNOW WHAT YOU SAID!" shouted Dagur. "BUT WHERE ARE THEY NOW!?"

"We don't know," said the soldier.

"YOU DON'T KNOW!?" yelled Dagur. "HOW DO YOU NOT KNOW!?"

Dagur showed past the soldier, knocking him intentionally into the water, before storming over to where the dragons were once held. Upon entering said establishment, he found that what the soldier had told him was true.

Quickly, Dagur ran back to the place in the mountain where the prison was hidden. He saw the two stones revealing the entryway.

"No no no no no NO NO NO!" he shouted as he ran down the tunnels and to what was once Valka and Hiccup's prison cell. He found no one there.

"I WAS SO CLOSE!" he shouted, his voice echoing throughout the tunnels. "I WAS SO...CLOSE!"

He turned back around again and raced out back into open air. He shouted to his main men, "Prepare the ships! We head for Berserk! We gather the rest of the armada, and then sail for Berk and battle the Berkians! FOR THE LAST TIME!"

The men, after hearing Dagur's yelling, were soon ready in the ships they had. As soon as all was complete for the trip, they began to sail towards Berserk to gather up the other men and ships.

"As soon as we can," said Dagur, "we will take down Berk! This time the day after tomorrow, the Berkians will either be in our command, or in their grave."


	16. Chapter 16

**HELLO! This is my FIFTH update today, just to let everyone know. And, for the shout outs: **

**AnimeAngel: Alas. Dagur the Deranged doesn't give up that easily. And please, by all means, send the Scauldron out! I'll get my fireworm army. That'll teach him to mess with Hiccup H. Haddock and his friends! :) **

**xFaerieValkyriex: THAT'S FANTASTIC! I WILL DEFINITELY DO HOW VALKA FEELS ABOUT BERK AFTER BEING AWAY FOR 20 YEARS! How she feels of all the changes and such. :) Poor Hiccup. That filthy no good Dagur the Deranged maniac. He deserves to be blasted out of existence by a Changewing! :) **

**All: Anywho, here's chapter 16! **

The flight back to Berk was anything but eventful. It was quiet, peaceful, and the cloudy sky more than welcomed the dragons and their riders, although it did make it slightly darker than it normally would have been. Berk was still a few hours away by dragon, so there was a long gap between Berk and the island they had come from.

Astrid seized this opportunity as the perfect time to ask Valka what in the world happened.

"So..." Astrid began awkwardly, fiddling with her skirt as she flew Toothless beside Cloudjumper. "Uh...what happened, exactly, from the time you were racing that day until now?"

Valka sighed, not really wanting to get on the topic, but it was hard not to talk about it. Besides, Astrid would learn sooner or later, so why not sooner?

"We went for another lap," Valka explained. "Actually, two laps. We were racing to the cove, when...these _men _just came out of hiding, three bolas at the dragons, capturing them. The men were with crossbows, fully armed in every way possible."

"Wait," said Tuffnut. "They came out of _hiding_? You mean they were _waiting _for you? Unfair!"

Valka disregarded the boy and continued. "Hiccup and Dagur had a little..._conversation_, if you could really call it that, and then some of Dagur's men just grabbed slingshots with metal balls and just fired them at us. They hit the dragons first to make sure they didn't get away when Hiccup was cutting their bonds with Inferno, and then they started firing at Hiccup and me. They got me first, and then Hiccup."

"Those awful men," said Astrid. "With people like them living out there, how did we ever think _dragons _were the worst they came?"

Valka nodded solemnly. Astrid didn't want to push the information out of her, but at the same time, she couldn't stand just sitting around, waiting for Valka to speak up, because she knew she wouldn't willingly.

But to her surprise, Valka did; "I woke up in prison," said Valka. "Hiccup said he thought he had lost me. I don't know how long I was out, but apparently it was a while. I don't know. He passed out shortly after, waking up later, passing out again, waking up, passing out, waking up, passing out...until Dagur came."

Astrid gasped at what she feared would happen next.

"Hiccup told me to let him go," said Valka. "Willingly. I should have just killed Dagur then, but Hiccup...he probably wouldn't have let me, if you know what I mean."

Astrid nodded. She knew how selfless Hiccup was. It was both good and bad at the same time.

"When Dagur brought Hiccup back," said Valka, "he was coughing, struggling to get enough air into his lungs, and his arm was like..._this_." Valka gestured to her son's arm warily, not touching it, just pointing to it. Astrid had see the bandaging when she had first found Hiccup, but now there was blood seeping through them.

"And then he passed out again," Valka said. "I was panicking. I didn't know what to do, exactly. I was worried that he wouldn't...pull through...or hang on long enough for you to get there." Valka paused abruptly. "If you had arrived just a few days later..."

"We didn't," Astrid interrupted, holding up her hand to tell Valka silently that she didn't need to continue. "We didn't."

Valka was thankful for that in a number that it would take a lifetime to write down, and even still not be completed. She didn't know what she would have done if they hadn't got there when they had.

"So...how far are we from Berk?" asked Valka to Astrid.

"Hmm?" Astrid asked, not fully hearing her question. She had been lost in her own thoughts onto what Dagur had done to her best friend.

"How far are we from Berk?" asked Valka.

"Um...we've been flying for about an hour so far," said Astrid. "Maybe another hour or so and we'll be there."

"Good," said Valka. Astrid could see quite plainly that Valka was concerned, but at the same time was trying to remain brave. Toothless also displayed measures of his own concern, making Astrid fly as close as possible to Cloudjumper so he could at least be a little bit closer to his rider.

"Sorry we didn't come sooner," said Astrid. "If we had, maybe he wouldn't be so hurt right now. Maybe...maybe he would actually be _conscious_."

"Don't you dare apologize, Astrid," said Valka. "You came when you could. Better to arrive late than never to arrive at all." There was pain behind her voice, and Astrid could tell Valka was really considering what would have happened had they arrived sooner.

"So...has he made any sign of coming to?" asked Snotlout, Hookfang flying in above Cloudjumper. Valka looked up and regarded her nephew.

"More or less," said Valka, looking down at the form of her unconscious son in her arms. "I don't know, to be honest."

As they continued to fly towards Berk, the sun set behind a mountain. Sooner than later, it was dark. Not only was it dark, but it was _freezing. _Astrid's teeth started chattering together, and as she looked around, she saw that so were everyone else's. Valka tightened her grip around Hiccup, feeling his start shivering even in the depths of unconsciousness.

The clouds darkened, threatening to pour out rain at any moment. Valka looked up at them, acknowledging them carefully. They only had a few minutes before it started downpouring.

"We have to land," she said suddenly, an order, not a suggestion. Everyone was about to protest, but looking back at her and Hiccup, they instantly decided not to. Hiccup's face was white, and he was shivering, his teeth chattering together even though he wasn't anywhere near consciousness. They suddenly realized Valka's reason for wanting to land.

"Where's the closest landing place?" asked Valka, interrupting them from their thoughts. "Preferably with some sort of shelter we could wait out the storm in."

"There's a cave on the other side of Dragon Island," said Astrid, remembering the time she and the others had done a training quest there **(see the episode "The Night and the Fury." It is absolutely HI-LA-RI-OU-S!)**.

"How far's Dragon Island, though?" asked Valka.

"There!" shouted Fishlegs, pointing to said island, just coming into view.

Thunder boomed from above, loudly, sounding very uninviting.

"Come on, hurry!" exclaimed Astrid.

The riders followed her command, flying downwards towards the island. It started raining slightly, not fully downpouring yet, but it was close. In the middle of a heavy downpour and a light sprinkle.

As soon as they could, the dragons landed right in front of the cave. It was large enough, and dry enough.

Valka lifted Hiccup into her arms and dismounted, Cloudjumper lowering her down on one of his wings. The other riders did the same, leaping off their dragons and then heading into the cave.

As soon as they were far enough in, Valka knelt down and laid Hiccup in front of her. Astrid and the others were instantly at his side as well, each worried for his sake.

"I'll start a fire," Gobber offered, standing. "Could you help me, Eret?"

"Oh, of course," said Eret, taken back a little bit by the question as he stood and followed Gobber. "Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Fishlegs, you too," Gobber called out. Said pardons left to help Gobber while Astrid and Snotlout stayed to help Valka.

The dragons entered, remaining at the very front of the cave, keeping out any freezing winds and rain water that threatened to enter their makeshift haven. Toothless wanted desperately to get to his rider; to make sure he was alright, but he trusted Valka and Astrid to know what they were doing. When the storm lifted he would see Hiccup. For now, he had to block the storm out.

"Do you guys have any medical supplies, by chance?" Valka asked.

"Hiccup always keeps some in Toothless' saddlebag," said Snotlout standing. "I'll go get them."

As he walked over to Hiccup's dragon and began digging in the saddlebag, Valka gently undid the old bandaging around Hiccup's arm before rolling up his sleeve to see the extent of the damage she had not been able to check before.

Astrid gasped at the sight of it. It was a large, deep, unclean gash running from his wrist to his elbow, still pulsing blood to an extent. Snotlout came back a second later, carrying more rolls of gauze, a pack of what looked like herbs, and a small jar of clear, sticky looking liquid.

"Put this on his arm before you bandage it, after we wash it," said Snotlout, handing Valka the jar of the who-knows-what and setting the herbs and gauze to the side. Valka looked at the jar for a few more seconds before setting it down beside her and picking up the small sack of herbs.

"Do you have a bowl, or a bucket with you?" she asked.

"Again, Hiccup keeps one in his saddlebag," said Snotlout, standing up again. "I'll go get it."

"When you do," called Valka before Snotlout could walk away, "please leave it outside for a second to fill it with water."

He nodded, returning a few minutes later with the small bowl, now filled with water. Valka took some of the herbs, poured them into the bowl, and crushed them with her fingers.

Then, she requested Astrid find some sort of cloth. Astrid returned seconds later with a thick, black square strip of fabric she kept in Stormfly's saddlebag.

Valka took it, dipped it in the water, left it in for a few seconds, took it back out, and then, without caring to ring it out, pressed it to Hiccup's arm. Hiccup winced and groaned, his eyes squeezing shut tightly.

Valka gently cleaned the wound, wincing herself every time Hiccup groaned our cried out in pain, but she didn't stop. She had to do this, given she didn't really have a choice.

She continued in this manner, rewetting the cloth and cleaning the wound until it was clean, beyond risk of getting infected. Valka set the cloth back in the now nearly empty bowl of water and picked up the jar.

"What is this?" asked Valka, suddenly letting curiosity get the best of her.

"It's, uh..." Astrid and Snotlout both started, both looking at each other when they said the same thing. Their eyes pleaded with each other, begging the other to answer Valka's question.

"Hello?" asked Valka.

"It's, uh..." said Snotlout. He cleared his throat and mumbled "Nightfurysaliva."

"What?" asked Valka, not being able to hear what he said.

"It's Toothless' spit," Snotlout said. "Hiccup told me that Night Fury saliva has incredible healing properties." **(see episode "Defiant One")**.

"How did he even figure that out?" asked Valka.

"Beats me," said Snotlout, shrugging. Valka unscrewed the lid, admiring how thick and sticky the liquid inside the jar looked. Valka was used to dragon saliva, but here was a jar of it, which she was supposed to apply to a bleeding wound.

She dipped her fingers in before taking them out, rubbing the "medicine" all over Hiccup's wound. To her surprise, he seemed to relax as soon as it was applied. He didn't cry out, or moan, or anything. His eyes were no longer squeezed shut; now they were just shut naturally.

"Night Fury saliva," Valka said while re-dipping her fingers and applying more. "Strange, yet helpful."

"I know right?" said Snotlout. "Who knew?"

"Okay, the fire's goin' nicely," Gobber announced, making his way back over to them. Eret, Ruffnut and Tuffnut remained staring at the flames, casting nervous glances to Hiccup every now and again.

"Ugh, I'm starving," Tuffnut complained.

"Then why don't you make yourself _useful _and go catch some fish!" Astrid suggested enthusiastically.

"Okay," said Ruffnut. She and her brother stood up before walking out, mounting their dragons, and flying. Eret stood.

"I should probably go with 'em," he suggested. "Make sure they don't kill 'emselves."

"I'll go with you," offered Snotlout, standing and following Eret out. Once the two and their dragons were gone, Gobber sat down next to his former apprentice.

"So, how is he?" he asked.

"Okay," said Valka, running her fingers through her son's hair. "I mean, as okay as it gets. It was a deep gash."

"It sure was," said Astrid. "It makes me just want to go out and scream. Then, mount Stormfly and fly off to kill Dagur. And then I'll re-kill him, and then burn his ashes and kill him again. Then I'll chop them into a thousand pieces and light them on fire. And then I'll take a hammer and pound them, and then I'll make it into a paste with some water and then dump it down a lake infested with Thunderdrums..."

"WHOA!" shouted Fishlegs, putting up his hands helplessly. "Remind me never to get on your bad-side."

"Calm down there, lass," said Gobber. "We can't do anything right now."

"Gobber's right," said Valka, as much as she wanted to agree with Astrid. Dagur could be dealt with later. No, not could. _Would. _Dagur wasn't going to get away with this. "We can deal with Dagur when the next chance comes. Right now, though, Hiccup needs us to be helping him, not looking for trouble."

Astrid nodded, still feeling terrible about the whole thing. After a few more minutes of just sitting in silence, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Eret and Snotlout returned with their catch.

While the others roasted their fish, using sticks like one would use a skewer, Valka and Astrid remained at Hiccup's side, waiting in silence for the moment he would wake up.

At length, Astrid stoke up. "You go on, Valka," she said. "Go eat something. I'll stay with him."

Valka nodded, thanked Astrid, before walking over and sitting beside Gobber. Astrid refocused her gaze back to her best friend, assessing his current condition with worried eyes.

"Oh Hiccup," she whispered, gently brushing his auburn bangs away from his closed eyes. "How did I ever let this happen to you?"

A few more minutes later, Valka rejoined Astrid, telling the young girl to go herself and get some food. Astrid nodded, still reluctant to leave Hiccup, yet knew that she was no good to anyone starved.

Valka sat next to her son again, worry evident. She didn't even bother trying to hide her emotions, knowing that she would just fail miserably. She leaned up against the cave wall just a foot away from Hiccup and fell asleep, just watching the shadows that the fire casted dance against the walls.


	17. Chapter 17

**MY PEOPLES! HELLO! This is my FIRST update today, but since we're going out today and going to be out all day, I might not be able to update again until tonight. :( I know, I'm so so so so sorry about that. I feel so terrible not updating. :( But it's only until tonight, and then I'll be updating again like mad! :D Now, shoutouts: **

**AnimeAngel: I know you weren't. :) Scauldrons are awesome! I would probably tame a Changewing if I lived in Berk, and if I couldn't it under control, I would probably shoot for a Snaptrapper next, although I'll need three other riders, since the Snaptrapper has four heads (if you don't know what the Snaptrapper is, I suggest watching 'Book of Dragons'). Yep. Send out the scauldron! :) LOL! Poor Hiccup...Dagur really deserves to he Astrid's personal target for axe-throwing practice. :) LOL! **

**xFaerieValkyriex: LOL! HAHAHA! I guess I outran . HAHAHAHAHAHA! That's hilarious! Maybe I broke it...oops. :) *embarrassed smile* That. Would. Be. So. Amazingly. Sweet! (your idea about Valka). I think I'll do that! It would be so sweet! :) Can't wait to finish this fic and get started with that one! Yes! Practice on the logs, and then we'll move to Dagur! I'll grab my archery equipment. We're hunting Dagurs! HAHA! **

**Other: Enjoy the chapter, probably my only update today until later on tonight. Have fun until then! :) Signing out! **

_He was running. Running through a forest. He cast a quick glance behind him at his follower; he was gaining rapidly. _

_Hiccup drew Inferno, wielding the fire-lit blade in his left hand, his other arm wrapped securely in a sling for whatever reason, he didn't know. Dagur the Deranged stepped out from the shadows, his axe in his hand. _

"_I've waited a long time for this," said Dagur, swinging his axe around both his hands before coming to rest in his left one. More of Dagur's men emerged from behind him, all wielding their weapons._

_Hiccup was outnumbered by them, so he turned and kept running. _

"_After him!" shouted Dagur, leading his now running army after the boy. "Let him get away, and I'll make sure you never forget it!" _

_Hiccup ran faster as the men gained on him at an alarming rate. But then Hiccup looked forward, and he stopped running. Laying in front of him was a well-known figure and her dragon, both unmoving. _

"_Mom?" Hiccup asked, crouching beside her. "H-Hey, wake up," he shook her shoulder gently, but to no avail. Dagur approached him and grinned. _

"_Look what you've done, Hiccup," said Dagur. "You couldn't even protect your own mother." _

_Hiccup looked down in unbelief. She was dead. _

"_WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?" shouted Hiccup._

"_More importantly, Hiccup," said Dagur, "what have _you_ done?" _

_Dagur raised his axe over his head, and then brought it down... _

Hiccup bolted upright and screamed.

Valka woke up to the sound of her son's screaming. She quickly called his name and ran over to his side. As soon as she knelt down beside him, she touched his shoulder. Instantly, Hiccup launched himself at her, wrapping his arms around her waist, crying into her chest. Valka wrapped her arms around him, trying to provide comfort to the ailing boy.

"You were _dead_," Hiccup sobbed. "You were dead."

"No, it's okay, Hiccup. It's okay. I'm right here," said Valka, gently stroking the back of his head. "It was just a dream."

Hiccup wanted to believe it, but he just couldn't. The chase...the soldiers...the heartbreaking discovery...it all seemed too _real_. Just much too real.

"Hiccup?" Valka asked. Hiccup didn't respond for another few moments before he pulled away. Suddenly, he collapsed again. Valka gasped as she caught him and held him upright, noting how pale his face had once again become.

"Hiccup!" she asked.

"Y-yeah?" Hiccup asked before he started coughing. Valka frantically whistled to Cloudjumper, who woke up and strode over. Valka grabbed a water canteen from the dragon's saddlebag and offered it to Hiccup, who was still coughing.

Hiccup took a few sips, and his coughs died down until they were nothing. Valka still held him upright, knowing he would fall back down the minute she let go.

Toothless woke up to the sound of his rider's coughing. After Cloudjumper returned to his spot, Toothless left, walking over to Hiccup and nuzzling his side. Hiccup winced, trying not to let Valka see him do it, but she did. Mothers see _everything_.

"Are...are you in pain, Hiccup?" Valka asked. Hiccup shook his head, but it just hurt his already aching skull more, causing him to grimace. Then, he nodded in defeat.

"Where?" asked Valka.

Hiccup gestured with his good arm to his bad arm, and then his entire stomach and chest area. Valka was slightly confused. Hiccup's arm was the only thing that really seemed hurt besides his head. Why was everything else hurting him...

...oh...

..._oh_...

Valka finally understood. "Did Dagur kick you?" She asked, knowing she had assumed correctly when Hiccup nodded.

That would also explain why he was coughing so much. Dagur had probably knocked the wind out of him, possibly even damaged his ribs. Valka and Toothless looked each other in the eyes. Although no words were spoken, Toothless knew what Valka wanted. Toothless laid down, curling his tail around his rider and Valka before pulling them close to him. Hiccup gasped as Toothless made contact with his stomach, but didn't make any other gestures or movements.

"Careful, Toothless," Valka instructed, her voice a harsh whisper. The others were still asleep; they hadn't woken up to Hiccup's screaming and coughing, and Valka still didn't want to wake them unless she had to.

Hiccup fell wearily against Toothless' back as soon as he could. Toothless turned his head so he was looking directly at his rider, worry written plain on the dragon's face.

"Do you need anything?" asked Valka to her son. "Are you hungry?"

Hiccup shook his head. In a way he was hungry, but in a way he wasn't. Valka nodded in understanding. She would have to try again later. But she did want to get a look at Hiccup's stomach.

She moved from where she was sitting beside him and now knelt in front of him. Hiccup's eyes moved over her, wondering in silence what she was doing.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm going to look at your stomach," said Valka. "If Dagur did something to you, I have to make sure it's okay. Okay?"

Hiccup nodded and sat back against Toothless, closing his eyes. Valka undid Hiccup's chest armor and then lifted up his shirt to see the extent of what Dagur had done. There were deep bruises littering his upper stomach and chest, proving what Valka had previously assumed.

"Hang on just a second, Hiccup," said Valka standing. "I'm going to wrap your chest just to make sure Dagur didn't crack any of your ribs."

Hiccup nodded again and waited for Valka to get back. She got back in another instant, carrying yet another roll of gauze. She wrapped it gently yet securely around Hiccup's entire chest and upper stomach where the bruising was. She pulled HIccup's shirt back down and re-did his chest armor, thinking that if one of his ribs had suffered any damage, the armor would help keep it in place.

"Thanks," said Hiccup, his voice almost silent. Valka heard it, though. She turned and laid down beside him against Toothless, staring out into the darkness. Hiccup fell asleep only moments later. Valka was happy that this was real sleep. Not unconsciousness. She waited another hour to make sure Hiccup wasn't haunted by another nightmare, and then she too laid back, falling asleep shortly after.


	18. Chapter 18

**I'M BACK! YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY! This is my SECOND update today, sorry I couldn't do more. We were gone from this morning till now, and so I had like ZERO time to do anything. Anyways, some shout outs:**

**AnimeAngel: YES! Scauldrons are ADORABLE (I assume you have seen the "Free Scauldy" episode?). And that is HILARIOUS! HAHAHA! Dagur used Hiccup for target practice, and now Astrid's gonna try and use Dagur as personal target practice. How coincidental? :) **

**xFaerieValkyriex: Glad it's working again! Yeah, I guess it does depend on how much a day I update. Like I could imagine fanfiction just gets tired of telling you I updated every two hours or so. Lol. YES! Breakneck Bog TOTALLY crushed me...right in the Fangirl! "I was so little when Mom...ah, you know. I was starting to worry I'd forget her...but now...I-I love it." (Hiccup from said episode). It was SO. AMAZINGLY. CUTE! Ya know, that would be ADORABLE if I were to write a one-shot on that scene! I'm not so good at fanfics with Little Hiccup just because I never know what to write in them. But I guess you can only try. :) Ya ready to go make Dagur pay? Cause I most certainly am! :) LET'S GET HIM! **

**xrosheart2013: Thank you for your PM! I'll keep writing! :D**

The next time Valka woke up, it was the next morning. The light streaming through the mouth of the cave told her so.

She turned her head, seeing Hiccup now laying his head on top of Toothless' head, Toothless sleeping as if it were the most comfortable position ever.

Valka looked around, seeing the others already awake. Astrid was the first to notice Valka was up, and acted accordingly.

"Good morning, Valka," said Astrid, walking over to said woman. "Um...how's Hiccup doing?"

Valka looked over at her son before turning back to Astrid. "Okay I guess," said Valka. Silence followed, Astrid knowing that Valka wasn't telling her everything.

"Hiccup woke up last night screaming from a nightmare," Valka explained. "Shortly afterwards he told me part of what Dagur did to him."

"Oh did he?" asked Astrid, cringing at Dagur's name.

"What a jerk," Tuffnut uttered.

"Yeah," Ruffnut agreed. "I would love to see that guy pay for what he's been doing to our poor Hiccup."

"Hiccup said that Dagur kicked him in the stomach a few times," said Valka. Everyone fell silent, including the roaming dragons, as if they too knew what it meant.

Astrid glared harshly at the wall before running up and kicking it. "That complete utter BASTARD!" she yelled, causing a flock of nearby Terrible Terrors to fly out of the trees they were sitting in. "What I wouldn't give to go show Dagur..."

"We can take care of him later," said Valka. "I really think we should get Hiccup back to Berk now, though, and have some of the healers check over his injuries. I don't really know the extent of them all."

Astrid nodded.

"Eret, Fishlegs and Gobber went out to catch a few more fish just a second ago," she said. "They figured we should eat before we fly off."

"I'd like to try and get Hiccup to eat something, too," Valka admitted. "I mean, he hasn't eaten anything for two days now."

Astrid nodded again. Gobber, Fishlegs and Eret arrived back at the cave just seconds later. Astrid called Stormfly over and got the Nadder to create a small fire where their old one was last night. Soon, they were cooking fish over the fire. Valka cooked one before walking back over to Hiccup with it. She gently knelt down and shook his shoulder.

"Hiccup," she called. "Hiccup?"

Hiccup groaned, his eyes opening all at once. He looked up and squinted when he saw his mother looking over him, and smiled.

"Hey," he said, closing his eyes and resting back on Toothless again. Said Night Fury was already awake, but he hadn't moved from his current position in fear he would hurt Hiccup by mistake.

"Hey," said Valka. "I wanted you to eat something before we headed back to Berk."

Hiccup cracked open his eyes again, looked at the fish on the stick Valka held, before frowning and closing his eyes once.

"N'thanks," said Hiccup.

Valka was slightly taken back by his answer. "Aren't you hungry?" she asked.

"Well, I _am_," said Hiccup. "I just don't really feel like I could eat anything right now. To be honest, I feel awful. Everything hurts," he commented.

Valka stared at him, not wanting to push him. If he was feeling bad, she wouldn't make him eat, although his disappearance in appetite didn't sit well with her, and also didn't go unnoticed.

"Do you need me anymore?" asked Hiccup, catching Valka completely off guard. What did he mean?

"Uh...I don't think I understand, son," said Valka. "What do you mean?"

"I want to go back to sleep," Hiccup answered.

"Oh," said Valka. "Okay then. Go ahead, I won't stop you."

"Thanks," said Hiccup. He closed his eyes and his breath evened out. Valka knew he was sleeping again, so she stood and walked back over to where the others were waiting.

"What's wrong?" asked Astrid, seeing the look on Valka's face.

"Nothing really," said Valka. "He just doesn't want to eat right now. But really, can you blame him?"

Astrid and the others all shook their heads.

"We should get back to Berk though," Astrid brought up. "Maybe leave right now."

"Yes," said Gobber. "Sooner is always better."

"Okay," said Valka. "Astrid, could you help me?"

"Sure," said Astrid. Valka whistled to Cloudjumper, who then made his way over to Valka and Astrid, who were now crouched in front of Hiccup. In just another minute Hiccup and Valka were on Cloudjumper, Hiccup still sleeping, and Valka's arms gripped around his waist.

Astrid mounted Toothless and the others mounted their dragons as well. They flew out of the cave, Astrid giving Stormfly the follow command she had been using so much then.

The rest of the flight back was uneventful. It was sunny, the clouds pretty much gone from the storm last night. It was reasonably warm, still early morning. The droplets of rain on the plants reflected the sunlight, causing them to glisten and sparkle.

Berk was in sight about another hour later **(we never really see how far Dragon Island is away from Berk, so I guessed. If I am wrong, please someone point it out to me, and don't quote me on it, 'cause I really have no idea). **

The dragons touched down in front of the Haddock house. Random passersby looked and were confused, seeing their Chief return in such state after just vanishing without a trace for two days.

Valka dismounted Cloudjumper, ignoring the villagers who were already mumbling their assumptions, and carried Hiccup inside their house. She walked up the stairs to his loft, and laid him in bed. His eyes opened, and he looked around.

"What..?" he started, then he noticed Valka. "Mom?" he asked.

"Yes?" Valka replied, sitting on the edge of his bed, relieved to see him awake.

"How did we get here?" asked Hiccup.

"You and I rode Cloudjumper," said Valka.

"Where's Toothless?" asked Hiccup. Said dragon suddenly barreled through the window with Astrid still on his back. When Toothless was on all fours again, Astrid jumped off.

"How, Hiccup?" asked Astrid, panting heavily. "How did you _ever _fly that dragon?"

Hiccup laughed slightly as Toothless sauntered over, his teeth sheathed and his tongue hanging out of the side of his mouth.

"Hey, bud," said Hiccup, scratching the dragon's head. "How's it going?"

Toothless answered by running his tongue across his rider's face. Hiccup made a noise of disgust, and then looked to his mother and Astrid, who were just barely containing their laughter.

"This doesn't wash out," Hiccup groaned.

Valka stood suddenly and turned to Astrid. "I'm going to fetch a healer," she explained. "Could you stay with him?"

"Do you really need me to answer that?" asked Astrid, smiling while crossing her arms. Valka returned the grin.

"Okay," said Valka, making her way to the door. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

As soon as she left, Astrid strode over and sat beside Hiccup. "You know something, Hiccup?" she asked.

"What?" he replied.

"You're always managing to get yourself in trouble somehow or another," said Astrid. "Where would you be without us?"

"Dead?" Hiccup offered, smiling halfway.

"Exactly," said Astrid. "Exactly, Hiccup. You and danger are like two magnets. It's like, you can't do anything without being in some sort of danger in any way, shape or form."

"So...what are you getting at?"

"You are never leaving my sight again."

"That'll be hard, considering the fact you're always out there winning races and I'm watching the village."

"Well then I'll stop winning races."

"And let Snotlout hold title of Dragon Racing Champion? Oh please. I would rather be in danger, thank you very much, then listen to him go on about the fact that he's the best."

"Fine, you got me there...kinda...but seriously, you'll never hear the end of this."

"I figured just as much."

"And you're now going to have to deal with an overprotective Astrid, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Snotlout, Valka, and Toothless."

"I see no problem with that."

"Not now you don't. But you will."  
>"So...you're trying to give me a problem?"<p>

"No, not really."

"Then what is it, then?"

"DON'T YOU GET IT, HICCUP!?" Astrid yelled suddenly, catching Hiccup by surprise. "I ALMOST LOST YOU!" She paused before finishing, "AGAIN! When we came in and I saw you in the prison...I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD, HICCUP! I was freaking out like you wouldn't believe! About a million thoughts went into my head at once until I realized that you were breathing. IT WAS HORRIFYING, HICCUP HADDOCK! ABSOLUTELY HORRIFYING!"

"Whoa, that changed dramatically," said Hiccup.

"I'M BEING SERIOUS!" shouted Astrid. "If we had gotten there just another day later, you would probably have been dead! DO YOU GRASP HOW SERIOUS THIS IS!?"

"Well, yeah, I was the victim, Astrid, in case you haven't noticed," said Hiccup.

"YOU DON'T SEEM TO!" shouted Astrid. She calmed suddenly. "I don't know what I would have done if..." She stopped, and Hiccup realized her eyes were brimming with tears. "...if you would have..._died_...I...I wouldn't..."

"Astrid, it's okay," said Hiccup. Astrid turned back to him suddenly, tears making their way down her face. She was _crying_...the Great Astrid Hofferson, who laughed at the sight of danger, was crying.

"No," said Astrid. "No, Hiccup, it's not okay. You're my best friend. I should have been there sooner. I should have...it's my fault..."

"Astrid," said Hiccup, cutting her off, "there was nothing you could have done. Dagur would have done this to me either way. You can't control a Deranged Maniac, Astrid. If it's anyone's fault, it should be mine."

"Yours!?" exclaimed Astrid. "Hiccup, it's NOT your FAULT!"

"No, I'm pretty extra sure that it is," said Hiccup. "I'm the Chief of Berk, Astrid, and it's my job to _protect _my people, not have my people protecting _me_."

"But that's what we _do_," said Astrid. "You protect us, we protect you. We are a TEAM. Everyone has a role..." She smiled at him, wanting him to finish.

"...and no one person is better, or more important than the other," Hiccup finished. "I know, Astrid, but-"

"It's not your fault," said Astrid. "If anyone should be blamed, it's Dagur. If anyone should be punished, it's Dagur. If anyone should dine on my wrath-"

"Let me guess," said Hiccup. "It's Dagur."

"Exactly, Hiccup," said Astrid. "Dagur did this. Not you. I know you."

"I know you do," said Hiccup. He shifted his gaze as if the floor was suddenly very interesting.

"Hiccup?" asked Astrid. "What is it you're not telling me?"

"I could have killed him," Hiccup mumbled.

"What?" Astrid asked, not understanding what Hiccup had just said.

"I could have killed him!" Hiccup said, louder this time. "He was there, in front of me. Inferno was raised over my head. All I had to do was drop the blade, and Dagur would have been gone. But, Astrid, I _didn't!" _He paused. Astrid could see him getting more and more angry with himself.

"Hiccup, please don't-" She started, just to be cut off again.

"ANYONE else in my place would have done it!" yelled Hiccup. "ANYONE! Anyone else on Berk! Any other Berkian! Just ASK THEM! But I didn't! WHY DIDN'T I JUST KILL HIM!? Do you know why, Astrid!?"

Astrid knew where this was going. "Hiccup, would you please calm-"

"Because I'm weak!" shouted Hiccup, continuing as if Astrid hadn't spoken to him at all. "Dagur was right, Astrid! I'm just the useless weakling everyone feels sorry for. I'm the weak link in the chain; the one that's reliable in only one way: snapping!"

"HICCUP STOP!" shouted Astrid, feeling helpless.

"Why didn't I kill him, Astrid!?" He asked her, his voice wavering but not lowering or growing any more calm. "WHY DIDN'T I!? Because I'm the useless screw up. The runt of the litter. The-"

"HICCUP!" yelled Astrid, grabbing him by the shoulders suddenly and pulling him up so he and she stared each other right in the eyes. "YOU ARE NOT USELESS!"

"What am I, then!?" asked Hiccup, catching Astrid by surprise.

"You're my friend!" said Astrid. "You are not weak! You are not useless! You are not the runt! You are brave. You are selfless. You are everything anyone could ever dream of being, Hiccup!"

Hiccup stared into her ocean blue eyes. Astrid stared into his forest green ones. Both their eyes were brimming with tears.

"You are not worthless," said Astrid. "Please don't go telling yourself that."

She pulled him into a hug, and the two remained in that position for what felt like forever, until Astrid pulled back and helped Hiccup lay down again.

The two of them waited in silence for Valka to get back with the healer.


	19. Chapter 19

**Wow, so I had NO IDEA so many people would like this story! Thanks! You guys are AMAZING! And, as usual, some shout-outs: **

**snoopykid: Awww, thanks! It means a lot to me! **

**xFaerieValkyriex: For ME!? Oh, that's so kind of you! *accept platter of cookies gratefully* Yes! The quote is beautiful! One of my favorites! The feels are so...just...gah! You know what I mean! :) Yeah, that was an intense argument. I'm normally not good at arguments, but I felt like it had to be done, you know what I mean? :) I enjoy Hiccstrid tension followed by...what's the word I'm looking for? Compassion? I think that's it. :) If you have a better one I'm open. :D**

**Other: This is my FIRST update today, and since we're going to be away from the house for a while today, I might not be able to get another chapter out until maybe two or three in the afternoon. Thanks, here's chapter 19! **

_**During the Previous Chapter...**_

Dagur and his men arrived back at Berserk by morning. Dagur leaped off the ship as soon as it touched the sand. His soldiers were waiting to greet him, but all he did was shout them orders.

"Prepare the ships!" he shouted. "We sail for Berk!"

The men didn't question him (they learned not to the hard way) and scrambled to get the ships ready. Meanwhile, Dagur laid out the plans for the captain of each of his ships in his armada.

"We will arrive at Berk by nightfall," said Dagur. "And when we do, we will hide out for as long as we can. If we are spotted, then we attack at once. But if we can manage, we'll go with hiding for a little bit longer."

"But why wait, sir?" asked one of the more less intelligent soldiers. Dagur shot a glare at him for interrupting, but answered nonetheless.

"Because, they have _dragons_," said Dagur. "I'll send some soldiers out to try and pinpoint each of the dragon's locations. Once we have that, we can march on the next morning, capture the dragons from where they are, and then move on to the rest of Berk. Without dragons, Berk has nothing against Dagur the Deranged's armada."

He turned, watching his army ready their warships. Dagur smiled and laughed hysterically. "Don't worry, Hiccup," said Dagur. "Soon we will put your entire island out of its misery, starting with you."

_**Back to Present Time... **_

Valka arrived just a few minutes later with Gothi. Astrid still sat on the edge of the bed beside Hiccup, who was now closing his eyes, probably sleeping. Gothi shooed Valka and Astrid out of the room so she could examine Hiccup.

The two women waited in the living room, looking constantly up to Hiccup's loft, hoping to see something, but to no avail. Gothi had tried to get Toothless out as well, but no, Toothless didn't and wouldn't budge. So they thought it would be better if he just stayed with Hiccup.

"What's taking so long?" Valka questioned as she paced the room. "Gothi _never _takes this long to just examine someone."

"Well, she probably rebandaged Hiccup's arm, and if he did break any ribs, she probably just went ahead and took care of those, too," said Astrid.

At that moment, Tuffnut, Ruffnut, Fishlegs, Snotlout, Eret, and Gobber entered the Haddock household.

"Any news yet?" asked Eret.

Valka shook her head. "I'm afraid not," she said.

"Could we hang out here until you get some?" asked Fishlegs. "I mean...I'm kind of worried..."

"Ah, what are you worried about?" asked Snotlout. "He's Hiccup! He _always _pulls through!"

"Then why did you keep insisting we come back and check on him?" asked Tuffnut.

"I told you not to tell anyone!" Snotlout shouted.

"Okay, at least I didn't tell them how you nearly broke into tears as soon as Valka took Hiccup in..." Tuffnut continued.

"I SAID DON'T TELL ANYONE!" shouted Snotlout.

"I wasn't TELLING them I was TELLING YOU!" shouted Tuffnut.

"Guys, break it up!" shouted Astrid, shoving herself between the two boys. They backed down almost immediately.

"So no news yet?" asked Ruffnut.

"No," said Astrid. "Nothing yet. It's been about fifteen minutes. It NEVER takes this long."  
>"Do you think Hiccup needs rescuing again?" asked Snotlout.<p>

"No," said Astrid as if she were bored; moreover, bored with Snotlout. "But this waiting is making me go..."

"Berserk?" asked Tuffnut. Astrid glared at him.

"I was going to say ballistic," she said.

"Eh, close enough," said Ruffnut.

They continued to wait, mostly in silence, which was new for the twins and Snotlout, but they were worried. Scared, maybe, even, although they would never admit it. The way Hiccup first looked after they rescued him...the way he looked after they set down to wait out the storm...the way he moaned and cried out when they were cleaning his wounds...

It was enough to creep them out.

Another fifteen minutes or so passed before they heard the door open and Gothi step out, walking down the stairs. They waited anxiously for what she was going to say. She threw sand on the floor in front of her, and began to write out with her walkingstick...


	20. Chapter 20

**Here ya go! My SECOND update (normally it would be like, my FIFTH, but we were away from the house all day, disabling my opportunity. :) ) Here it is! **

Gobber had to translate. Fishlegs offered to do it for him (since Gobber wasn't always the most...ahhh..._precise _on the matter), but Gobber insisted he did it.

"She says the slash on his arm is already healing over," said Gobber, reading what Gothi was writing. "Far beyond any risk of infection as long as we keep it covered and bandaged at all times."

"Aha! The spit worked!" shouted Snotlout, fist pumping. Everyone stared at him with deadpan expressions. Snotlout looked around smiling as one would when you told a joke and were waiting for the reason it was funny to set in, but it never did. An embarrassed smiled flashed on his face before he quickly folded his arms together behind his back, shifting nervously.

"Awkward," mumbled Tuffnut. Gothi whacked him with her staff before continuing to doodle...oh, sorry, I mean, _write_...in the sand she scattered across the ground.

"She says he had some lead drama and welding confusion," Gobber said. Gothi banged her staff against Gobber's head before he re-read what she wrote. "Oh, she says _head trauma _and a _concussion_. Ahh, that makes much more sense. Although it still looks like lead to me-oww!" He rubbed his head when Gothi banged her staff against it again.

"Um...why don't you allow me to take over?" Fishlegs offered, nudging Gobber out of the way. Gothi scratched more in the sand before Fishlegs interpreted, "She says he has two cracked ribs, and a concussion, but that's really the biggest part of his injury. She says keep him in bed, don't let him move around too much, and try to get him to eat something."

"He's been refusing every time I offer," said Valka. "Is that normal?"

Gothi lifted a hand, which could have meant anything. Valka looked at her, confused. Gothi sighed and began drawing in the sand again.

"She says, 'Yes, it is,'" Fishlegs translated. "She says not to force it, but to press it. Make him so annoyed with you always reminding him that eventually he does."

Gothi whacked Fishlegs for exaggerating the translation.

"I might have added a little there," said Fishlegs. "Sorry, Gothi."

Gothi nodded before turning, heading back out the door. As soon as she was gone, everyone turned and bolted up the stairs.

Valka arrived first. Hiccup was awake, scratching Toothless' head with his good, left arm. Toothless was purring; it could be heard all the way from downstairs. Valka didn't even hesitate in the doorway. She ran over and sat on the side of the bed before pulling Hiccup into a tight embrace.

"Oh Hiccup!" she cried.

"Yeah, watch my chest," Hiccup asked, laughing halfway. Valka quickly released her hold on him.

"Right, sorry," she smiled, laughing slightly herself.

Astrid ran up the stairway, only she hesitated, just for a moment, before racing over to her best friend...

...and punching him on the shoulder.

"OWW!" yelled Hiccup. "Why would you DO that!?"

"That's for scaring me half to death, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third!" shouted Astrid.

She hugged him quickly. "And that's for...uh...not dying?" She offered a weak smile, and Hiccup smiled back.

Fishlegs, Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Gobber and Eret filled the doorway to the room. Ruffnut and Tuffnut were basically on top of each other, trying to get in before one another, both failing, sending them crashing back down the stairway, all the way yelling at each other.

Hiccup laughed slightly.

"Gothi said you have to stay in bed," said Valka. "And as long as it takes, you are NOT leaving this spot until you are healed. Which means no flying until further notice."

Hiccup was about to open his mouth to protest, when Toothless beat him to it. The dragon wailed loudly before flopping on his back on the floor, causing the whole house to shudder. He moaned in disappointment, and the others laughed at his hilarious temper tantrum.

"I get it," said Hiccup. "Sorry, bud, but she's right."

Toothless perked up, his eyes pleading silently with his rider before he stood, looking agitated, like _Oh, you're siding with HER now!? _

"Hey, I'm sorry, buddy," said Hiccup, putting up his arms helplessly, wincing as he moved the right one. Toothless glowered, crooning sadly.

"Are you hungry, Hiccup?" asked Valka.

"Yeah, I could eat," said Hiccup, shrugging.

"Okay, give me ten minutes," said Valka, rushing back down the stairway so fast Hiccup thought she would trip. In truth, Valka was so glad to finally hear Hiccup want something to eat that she could hardly keep herself from doing do.

Gobber left shortly after, followed by Eret, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and Snotlout. Astrid said goodbye to Hiccup and Valka before leaving. Valka returned actually seven minutes later with some soup.

Hiccup accepted it gratefully, eating all of it, much to Valka's delight. She was glad his appetite was returning some.

"So...what now?" asked Hiccup.

"You don't get up," said Valka, smiling.

"Great," said Hiccup. "Like I would really think about getting up at this point."

"You've already considered it, haven't you?" asked Valka.

"No!" shouted Hiccup in an I-told-you-so voice. He mumbled, "Yes."

Valka nodded, knowing Hiccup well enough to know he would never stay in bed for very long without trying to get up.

"Fine," said Valka. "I'll leave you to rest. See you tomorrow?" she asked.

Hiccup nodded. "Like I could keep you away," he smirked, smiling heavily. Valka returned the smile before heading downstairs, scumbing to her own exhaustion.


	21. Chapter 21

**Oops. I forgot to do the shout outs at the last chapter, so I'll give them to you now (BTW, this is my THIRD update today): **

**xFaerieValkyriex: I know. Poor Hiccup...I just feel so bad for him. Dagur deserves to be sliced and diced by a certain shield maiden we know and love (Astrid Hofferson). And we will also ready our weapons and get this Deranged freak out of Hiccup's life. Haha! Poor guy, though. I do feel sorry for him (HICCUP! Not DAGUR!) **

**So, here's chapter 21! We're almost done with the story! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYYAYAYAYAYAYAYYAYAY!**

Dagur and his men arrived that night; just as they had intended. The soldiers were ready; the ships and weapons huge, the wait small.

Dagur turned and looked over his shoulder at the spies he had assigned to find each place the different dragons were located.

"Once you find them," said Dagur, "remember their exact location. We'll need them when we go to war tomorrow morning."

"But sir, what if we're spotted?" asked one of the spies.

"Well," said Dagur, "first I'll kill you. Then, we will take down the Berkians, one by one."

Dagur sent out the thirty spies as soon as the boat they were on docked. The spies leaped off and trecked carefully towards the plaza.

Astrid was at her house that night, tending her dragon, Stormfly. The dragon was munching away at the fried chicken Astrid had presented to her happily as if nothing else in the world mattered.

The clouds were dark, threatening to pour rain. Thunder rolled and lightning crashed every now and then, only adding to the creepiness. But Berk was usually like this; nothing new, besides the lightning. It wasn't close to the village, though. Really far out in the distance, nothing to be worrying about.

Astrid gently stroked her dragon's muzzle, her mind constantly moving to Hiccup. Normally about this time he and Toothless would enjoy a beautiful midnight flight together...but they wouldn't be able to do that for a while now, would they?

When Stormfly finished eating, she turned to Astrid. Astrid didn't regard the dragon. Impatient, Stormfly bumped Astrid's back with her nose until she finally turned around, facing the Nadder.

Stormfly looked out into the sky, and Astrid knew what she wanted.

"No, sorry, girl," said Astrid. "I don't really feel like flying tonight."

If a dragon could shrug, Stormfly would have. She laid down and curled up, Astrid's words not even fazing her.

Astrid sat down beside Stormfly, looking out into the night sky...

...when she heard footsteps.

Astrid and Stormfly both perked up at the sound. Astrid stood silently, walking out of Stormfly's stable and searching the outside with her eyes.

"You stay here," Astrid told her dragon. Stormfly huffed and laid her head down again, finding no problem. Astrid, however, thought differently.

She walked a few steps, her boots grazing the grass outside her dragon's stable. Then she heard the footsteps again.

_Clump. _

_Clump. _

_Clump. _

_Clump. _

_Clump. _

_Clump. _

Like someone was trying to be stealthy, yet was also failing miserably.

Astrid suddenly saw something move in the shadows. She turned her head quickly, her eyes catching a glint of metal as a dark figure raced through, taking cover behind one of the buildings.

_That's weird, _thought Astrid as she raced over, drawing her axe on her way. When she turned the corner, though, nothing.

"This is stupid," said Astrid, turning. But her eyes caught something else. "No...wait?" she whispered to herself. She looked out; she was near the beach at this point. She saw something being pushed off the sand...was that a _ship_?

The poor lighting didn't allow her to see much. At first she thought she was only getting herself worked up for no reason, but then a lightning flash flared...

...and the light caused by it gave Astrid a chance to see the symbol on the mast...

...a Skrill.

_A SKRILL!_

_A SKRILL!_

_A SKRILL! _

Astrid opened her mouth to scream, "THE BERSERKERS ARE ATTACKING!", but she suddenly felt a hand cover her mouth. She struggled, raising her axe, but someone else ripped it from her grasp.

"Hold her down," said a voice. "What should we do with her?"

"Take her back to the ship," said the man holding her mouth shut. "We'll let Dagur dispose of her accordingly."

Astrid did what she could to gasp with the man holding her mouth closed. _Dagur. DAGUR WAS HERE! _

She started thrashing wildly, causing the men to take hold of her arms. But she struggled out of his grasp, yanked his hand away from her mouth, and just barely had enough time to scream; long a loud. "AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" before the man shoved his hand over her mouth again and started yanking her to the ship as she thrashed wildly.

Not too far off, a certain Nadder heard her rider's scream. Stormfly perked up instantly, running down to where the scream had emanated from. She saw her rider being hauled off by two...no, three men...who were struggling to contain the thrashing girl.

Stormfly roared, swooping over the men, blasting fire at them randomly, firing at will, trying not to hit Astrid.

"Get the Dragon Nip!" shouted one of the men.

_Dragon Nip!? _thought Astrid, knowing how dragons reacted to that stuff. _NO! STORMFLY! GET OUT OF HERE!_

It didn't work, though. One of the Berserkers reached into his satchel and tossed Dragon Nip at the Nadder just as she landed on the ground, ready to defend her rider. The Dragon Nip began taking effect instantly; Stormfly just barely had enough time to let a few spines fire from her tail before the nip caused the dragon to fall to the ground, breathing with pleasure.

_Oh Stormfly, _thought Astrid. _Stupid Dragon Nip. _

She thought she was a goner, before she heard the tell-tale roar of a certain Night Fury. Then, a plasma blast exploded in front of her.

"Thatta Boy, Toothless!" shouted the rider. "TAKE THEM DOWN!"


	22. Chapter 22

**My FOURTH update today (if I counted correctly). Shout outs, anyone? **

**xFaerieValkyriex: YEAH! Hiccup to the rescue! *grabs quiver of arrows and bow* Let's ATTACK! *mounts Changewing* DEATH OR GLORY! **

**Angela: Yes, from hiding a Night Fury from the entire village to sneaking out, he is definitely a sneaky, sneaky kid. :) **

**Enjoy chapter 22! We're almost finished with the story! YAY! Free virtual soda pop of your choice! **

_**Previous Chapter In Hiccup's POV**_

Sleeping with two cracked ribs, a concussion, and one arm in tight bandage wasn't always easy. But it made it all the harder when a Night Fury kept pacing the room back and forth, crooning, obviously complaining about how he wasn't allowed to fly until Hiccup recovered.

"Toothless, would you just calm-down!" Hiccup asked the dragon. Toothless turned to him, regarded him, and then went straight back to pacing.

"Come on, Bud," said Hiccup. "This is annoying."

Toothless paced a few more times before striding back over to his stone slab, breathing plasma on it, before curling his tail around himself and laying his head down on his paws.

Problem was, now Hiccup was wide awake.

"Thanks, Bud," said Hiccup. "First you wake me up, keep me up, and then once I'm completely up, you go back to sleep. Very kind, Toothless." He added his trademark sarcasm in his sentence. "_Very _kind."

Toothless lifted his head again and looked to Hiccup. Toothless cocked his head sideways before moving back over to Hiccup, laying his head on his rider's chest.

"Okay, Toothless," said Hiccup.

Then, something happened. Toothless' eyes suddenly narrowed into slits, and he turned around, focusing on the wall. Hiccup heard the noise, too. He sat up, ignoring how his head and chest pained him.

If he didn't know better...

...he would have thought it sounded like a scream...

...but then it was followed by the roar of a Nadder...

...but not just any Nadder...

...Stormfly...

..._Astrid's Nadder..._

_...oh man..._

_...ASTRID! _

Hiccup suddenly jumped out of bed and ran downstairs, gripping his chest, trying not to cry out. Toothless sauntered after him, crooning.

"SSHHH!" Hiccup ordered the Night Fury. "If my Mom wakes up...she'll never let me...oh no...Astrid...I have...we have...to go...now!"

Toothless nodded as Hiccup raced over to the door and yanked it open. Just as he did, though, he heard someone shout his name from inside the house.

"Hiccup!" shouted Hiccup knew who.

"Sorry, Mom!" shouted Hiccup, running out the door, Toothless in tow.

"HICCUP!" shouted Valka again, running after her son as he barreled out the door with his Night Fury. She quickly ran outside after him, just barely managing to grab him (thankfully by his good arm).

"MOM!" shouted Hiccup. "Let go!"

"Hiccup, you can't go out there!" shouted Valka, pulling him back towards her, trying to keep him from running. Toothless didn't interfere, thinking he would only make it worse. He couldn't say no to Valka, but he couldn't say no to Hiccup, either.

"You have to let me go!" shouted Hiccup back, fighting her tightened grip on his arm. She wrapped an arm around his chest, trying to keep him at bay, but he didn't stop fighting.

"Hiccup stop!" she shouted desperately.

"NO!" he shouted back. "I HEARD ASTRID SCREAM! I can't just NOT SEE WHAT'S GOING ON!"

"I'll see what's going on, Hiccup!" yelled Valka. "You need to get back inside and-"

"NO!"

Hiccup finally managed to break away. Now, though, his chest was screaming with pain from struggling against his mother, but he didn't care. Astrid's life was possibly in danger.

Since when did Astrid scream like that!?

As soon as Hiccup realized he was free, he ran, jumped on Toothless, and told the Night Fury to take off. Toothless did so instantly.

"HICCUP!" shouted Valka desperately. She whistled to Cloudjumper, who came instantly at her call, and then she jumped on his back and urged him to follow Toothless. But the jet black dragon was too fast, and was soon out of sight.

Thunder rolled, followed by a Nadder screeching. Hiccup looked down as Toothless flew over the Hofferson residence. He didn't see anything going on there specifically...but he did see fire being blasted somewhere close.

"Come on, bud!" shouted Hiccup.

Hiccup saw the Nadder land, and then instantly collapse to the ground. Panic flooded through Hiccup as he and Toothless neared, seeing Astrid, struggling against the grip of three burly men. He wondered what he would do, when a strange flashback suddenly came into light:

"_Permission to shoot first and ask questions later!" _Ruffnut's words sprang into Hiccup's head.

"_Permission to skip the question!" Tuffnut added. _

_I guess that's what I'll do! _Hiccup thought to himself as he steered Toothless down. Toothless screeched as loud as he possibly could, and then fired a plasma blast directly in front of them, just barely missing them.

"Thatta Boy, Toothless!" shouted Hiccup. "TAKE THEM DOWN!"

The men holding Astrid were distracted, so while they were, Astrid took the chance and elbowed one of them in the stomach. He huffed as the wind was knocked out of him, forcing him to release his grip on her.

Astrid kicked another guard as he ran towards her. But then she realized that there was much more than just three...

...and then she realized that more were coming her direction from the ships now docked at the beach.

"AGGGGGHHHHHH!" screamed a dangerously familiar voice. "I TOLD YOU NOT TO GET SPOTTED!"

Astrid turned and faced the man she knew the voice came from.

"Dagur."


	23. Chapter 23

**FIFTH update today (if I counted right). Shout outs?: **

**AnimeAngel: Oh yeah! It is so on! Thanks for the cake! *hands you virtual slice* **

**xFaerieValkyriex: YAY! Hiccup to the rescue! But yeah, his injuries are rather serious, so...yep. Here's another chapter for you to read when you get the chance! :) **

**Everyone else: ENJOY!**

Dagur smiled as he drew his axe, approaching her head on.

"Yes, Astrid," said Dagur. "I'm here."

Astrid growled. "You might as well give up, Dagur," she hissed through clenched teeth. "You are no match for our dragons."

"Maybe I'm not," said Dagur. "But this is."

He turned around and shouted, "NOW!"

Instantly, flaming arrows lit up the midnight sky. Astrid ducked to avoid getting torched, but Dagur threw his axe directly at her...

It would have impaled her, hadn't a certain Night Fury grasped her in his paws, lifting her into the air. At first, Astrid let out a sharp cry in shock, but once she realized who it was, she stopped.

"Hiccup!?" yelled Astrid, a mix between joy and astonishment. "You should be resting!"

"Yeah, not gonna happen," said Hiccup. Astrid noticed Hiccup flying in the opposite direction, towards his house...

...and then he told Toothless to drop her. Toothless obeyed, his grip loosening on Astrid's arms until she fell through the air...

...and landed on the back of another dragon.

"Astrid!?" shouted a female, accented voice.

"Valka!?" exclaimed Astrid.

"Where's Hiccup!?" Valka questioned, staring daggers accidently at Astrid.

"He's right-" Astrid started, but then looked to where she was pointing, and saw that Hiccup was no longer there. "He was right on top of me!" shouted Astrid. "He dropped me and I landed on Cloudjumper, and-oh no. He must have gone back to confront Dagur!"

Valka instantly urged Cloudjumper on faster, and the Stormcutter obeyed.

Hiccup flew on Toothless, constantly clutching his chest as he groaned in pain. And he thought just sitting up hurt. Flying hurt about a hundred times worse.

He flew to the forge where he knew Gobber was by the pounding sound the hammer made when it made contact with the sword. Hiccup leaped off Toothless, hissing as it pained him more.

"GOBBER!" he shouted, elbowing the door open and leaning against the door post. "GOBBER I NEED YOU!"

Said blacksmith stared up from his work as soon as Hiccup yelled and flung open the door.

"Hiccup!?" shouted Gobber, both shock and anger obvious in his voice as he raced over to Hiccup, steadying him as he was about to fall over. "What are you doing up!?"

"Forget that!" shouted Hiccup. "You need to get the men ready! NOW! The Berserkers are atta-ahh!" His voice trailed off as he gripped his chest and sank to the ground, his breath suddenly hitching and becoming erratic.

"Hiccup!" shouted Gobber, kneeling in front of his former apprentice. Hiccup waved him off casually.

"I'm alright," he said. "It's just a little pain."

"Hiccup, forget it, I'm taking you home," said Gobber.

"No!" shouted Hiccup, forcing himself to stand, although his chest and his head were both telling him not to. "You don't understand! Dagur and the Berserkers are attacking us! You need to go get the men ready for war!"

Gobber stared at Hiccup. He could have been hallucinating...but what if he wasn't?

"GOBBER!" Hiccup yelled, jolting Hiccup out of his thoughts. "DO YOU TRUST ME OR NOT!?"

"I do, Lad, but you're not in a good condition now!" shouted Gobber. "I think it's better if you just take it easy-"

"I'll take it easy when my people are safe, Gobber!" yelled Hiccup. "GO GET THE MEN READY FOR WAR!"

Gobber ran out of the forge despite how reluctant he was to leave Hiccup in his state, but he knew Hiccup wouldn't let him help him unless he knew his people were also being helped.

As soon as Gobber was gone, Hiccup fell forward, putting his hands forward, ready to feel them impact hard on the ground. But instead something smooth and scaly caught him.

"Thanks, bud," said Hiccup, regarding the dragon with a thankful look as Toothless helped Hiccup stay balanced. Hiccup moved over and got on Toothless' back again, and Toothless took to the air quickly, but at the same time as gentle as he could, not wanting to jostle his rider too much.

Hiccup flew back to where he knew the Berserkers were going...

...and he almost crashed into a speeding Zippleback.

"Ruffnut!? Tuffnut!?" shouted Hiccup.

"THIS IS AWESOME!" shouted Ruffnut. She yanked on Barf's horns as the dragon swooped low near some of Dagur's men. Tuffnut yanked on Belch's horns, and the second dragon head sparked the flammable gas.

The explosion was horrendous. Ruffnut and Tuffnut both stared at it for another second before throwing their hands into the air and shouting, "YEAH!"

Hiccup looked around, seeing Snotlout riding Hookfang, the Monstrous Nightmare entirely on fire, breathing more of it towards Berserkers. Fishlegs and Meatlung weren't doing too bad, either.

Everyone was doing alright...

And then Hiccup locked eyes with Dagur, and Dagur locked eyes back. The two glared at each other, before Hiccup came to a conclusion:

He would have to face Dagur.

Alone.


	24. Chapter 24

**Okay, this is THE SHORTEST chapter in the fanfic. My FIRST update today (just to let you know. Also, we WILL be finishing the story TODAY if everything goes as planned! HORRAY! WHOOP WHOOP! Beyond! Beyond! Oi! Oi! Oi! Shoutouts: **

**snoopykid: Yep. Final battle! This is where it gets REAL. Real _crazy_, that is. Lol**

**ENJOY THE CHAPTER! SORRY IN ADVANCE FOR THE CLIFFHANGER!**

Hiccup landed Toothless just about five feet away from Dagur. The Deranged Chief smiled at the Hooligan Chief, grinning as he drew his sword.

"You just don't give up, do you, Hiccup?" asked Dagur.

"So far I could say the same thing about you," Hiccup replied, dismounting Toothless and grabbing a random fallen sword off the ground, glad his right arm had been hurt and not his left arm.

"Oh Hiccup," said Dagur. "I've waited a long time for this."

Dagur ran towards him, sword raised over his head. He and Hiccup parried, a loud clank following the ones of many other soldiers. Snotlout and Hookfang were fighting side by side, Snotlout doing surprisingly well. Ruffnut and Tuffnut were doing the same.

Hiccup could only hope Gobber got there soon with the...

...what was that sound?

Hiccup risked a quick look over his shoulder, seeing Hooligan soldiers charging at the Berserkers. Hiccup quickly turned his focus back to Dagur, relieved that Gobber _had _brought every man who was able to fight.

Hiccup and Dagur fought, Hiccup moving quicker than Dagur, easily dodging each of the man's blows, since he was lighter than Dagur, but Dagur was more skilled with a sword than Hiccup was.

"WHY...WON'T...YOU...GIVE...UP!?" yelled Dagur, slashing at Hiccup between every word. Hiccup jumped out of the way every time too, crying out every time he did so because of the pain in his head and chest.

Toothless cooed worriedly, but was fighting off soldiers of his own, unable to help Hiccup take Dagur down. Dagur and Hiccup, as they were fighting, were slowly, although they didn't know it, making their way over to the edge of a cliff...

...falling would have been about a two hundred foot drop to certain death. An ocean sprawled out below it insured that.

Astrid got Valka to land Cloudjumper right beside Stormfly, who was finally getting over the lingering Dragon Nip. Astrid mounted Stormfly and ushered the dragon back to the sky to help Valka look for Hiccup.

When they found him, they were shocked.

He and Dagur were fighting, both with swords, near the edge of a cliff. Astrid and Valka both cried out "HICCUP!" in unison and in vain, knowing he couldn't hear him. Toothless couldn't have supplied any help to Hiccup at that point, seeing as how he was far too busy with soldiers of his own.

Valka landed Cloudjumper about three yards away from where the two Chiefs were fighting. Astrid landed her Nadder beside the Stormcutter. Both women jumped off their dragons and ran over, grabbing fallen weapons from other soldiers on their way over.

"Hiccup!" shouted Valka and Astrid in unison.

Oops. Big mistake on their part. Hiccup turned and looked at them, and Dagur took advantage of that. He slashed, creating a large gash on Hiccup's right leg. Hiccup screamed in pain, and then took up his sword, parrying with Dagur again.

But Dagur lost his footing...

...and it all happened so quickly...

...Dagur fell backwards, off the cliff, but not before grabbing Hiccup's arm and yanking him down with him...

...they heard Hiccup scream...

...Dagur scream...

...and then disturbingly...

...NOTHING.


	25. Chapter 25

**Aren't I mean to poor Hiccup? Don't worry, though! It'll all be alright in the end! You'll see (I hope, anyway). This is my SECOND update today, I believe (correct me if I'm wrong. I'm too lazy to check myself. Hahaha). Shout-outs: **

**xFaerieValkyriex: Nah, I think Hiccup's too stubborn to die. I don't know, though...you'll have to read the rest of the story. :) Sorry about the soul-shattering cliffhanger...this one's actually _worse _than the last one. Sorry in advance. **

**snoopykid: Yep yep yep. Astrid'll get back at Hiccup if the fall doesn't do it for her. Poor Hiccup, though...it's not the end yet, either. :( **

**coolguy: Thanks! Glad you like it! :) Thanks for the suggestion as well! I don't really read fanfiction unless its done by my brothers or really close friends, but thanks for the suggestion! Maybe someday I'll look into it. :)**

**Everyone else: Thank you! Here's the next chapter. **

"No!" shouted Valka, rushing over to the cliff side and looking down. Astrid mirrored her, running over as fast as her legs could carry her. They knelt down and looked over, not knowing what to expect...

...just knowing that what they saw was unexpected.

Hiccup was holding on to a rock that was bulging out of the cliff with both hands, desperately trying to get a better grip. He was about ten feet downwards...not within reaching distance. Something was dragging him down, causing him to gasp, clutching the rock for dear life.

Or was it some_one_?

"HICCUP!" yelled Valka as soon as she saw her son was still alive. "HICCUP! JUST HOLD ON!" She quickly called to Cloudjumper, but the dragon was taking on soldiers, keeping them away from the cliff side. Astrid's Nadderhead was doing the same...

...no dragon help.

Valka reached down, trying to grip her son's hand, but missing. He was just too far away...just too far away...she couldn't grasp his hand...she couldn't grasp his _anything. _

Hiccup's bad arm suddenly slipped, leaving him hanging from just his left one. His sword was gone; he'd probably dropped it in an attempt to grasp the side of the cliff.

"HANG ON!" shouted Valka helplessly. "DON'T GIVE UP!"

She looked to Astrid frantically, who was looking around for something..._anything_ they could use to pull Hiccup back up, but they found nothing.

That's when Astrid noticed who was pulling Hiccup down.

Dagur the Deranged had a firm hold on Hiccup's right leg (the one he had slashed), and showed no sign of letting go any time soon.

"DAGUR, YOU GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY SON OR I WILL...!" screamed Valka, trailing off.

"You'll WHAT, Valka!?" asked Dagur. "Forget trying to save him! Hiccup goes down with me!"

Valka looked at Hiccup, her eyes pleading. Hiccup looked back at her with a face she'd never forget. A face full of pain, yet also full of bravery. Full of sadness, yet full of loyalty. Full of sorrow, yet full of leadership, knowing he would have to do anything..._anything..._to protect those he loved.

But that was just the problem.

"HICCUP!" shouted Valka. "DON'T YOU DARE LET GO!"

"Mom," said Hiccup, "take care of the village. Take care of Toothless. Tell him not to worry...we'll meet again."

"HICCUP NO!" shouted Astrid, knowing what he was thinking.

"Astrid," said Hiccup. "I...I'm sorry, Astrid. You deserved someone better than me. I'm sorry I couldn't give back to you what you gave to me. I love you, Astrid."

"HICCUP NO!" shouted Valka and Astrid in unison.

"I'm sorry," said Hiccup. With that, he released his hold, and fell down, not screaming, not making a sound. Just falling, knowing that it had to end this way. Knowing that he had done what was right. Knowing that he had made the right move...

...even if it was the hard one.

**Okay, first of all, has anyone here read "How Not To Celebrate Your Birthday"? If you have, did you see what I did there in the end of this chapter? In "How Not To Celebrate Your Birthday" it ends with Hiccup saying, "We'll make the second move. Hopefully, the right one." (or somethin' like that). Did you see how I tied it in there? :) I like doing stuff like that. Sorry about what I did to poor Hiccup...but the story's not over yet! We still have like, one or two more chapters left to go! I CANNOT believe we're almost finished with it! Thanks to all! **


	26. Chapter 26

**Sorry about that last cliffhanger (like, LITERAL cliffhanger). This is my THIRD update today. Here's some shout outs: **

**QueenAurora: Yeah, I have a love/hate relationship with cliffhangers. :) And yeah, Hiccup sure does get a lot thrown at him. Poor guy. But he's the protagonist to HTTYD 1 and 2. What do you expect, really? :) **

**Everyone else: enjoy the chapter! **

"HIIIIIIIIIIIICCCCCCCCCCCCCUUUUUUUUUUUUUPPPPPPPPPPPP!" Astrid wailed as she watched him fall down into the ocean below. No way. No way that just happened. No way Hiccup just sacrificed himself for his village...no way. No way. No. It couldn't end like this! Astrid refused to believe it.

"SON!" Valka screamed. "NO NO NO NO NO NO! HICCUP! HICCUP!"

Valka burst into tears, Astrid mirroring her. Both woman grasped their arms tightly around each other, seeking for comfort they knew they would never find again. Oh Hiccup...he was..._gone_. No one could survive that fall, even if it was into water.

The rest of the battle was a blur in the lives of Valka and Astrid. They fought along the Hooligans, knowing that Hiccup would want them to. They fought against the Berserkers...

...but without a Chief to tell them what to do. Without a Chief to give them orders. Without a Chief to be reassuring everyone that the battle would be won. Toothless fought on against the Berserkers with a renewed force. He knew what had happened to his beloved rider, and he was going to avenge him now.

The Berserkers were defeated by noon the next morning, but Valka didn't care. The remaining soldiers who were living were sent to prison until a proper sentence could be handed down, but Astrid didn't go to the ceremony. The dead bodies of Berserkers were put back onto their ships and sent off to the edge of the world, but Toothless didn't watch.

There was no victory celebration.

Gobber didn't sing.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut didn't bicker.

Fishlegs didn't smile.

Snotlout didn't laugh.

Valka didn't meet anyone's gaze.

Astrid didn't speak to anyone who tried to comfort her.

Toothless didn't fly (not because he couldn't, but he wouldn't).

Eret didn't ask questions.

Berk was silent on a day they would normally be rejoicing on...

...because a brave man had fallen.

Hiccup was the only Hooligan in that battle to have lost his life, yet it seemed as though a thousand people had just been killed. The children didn't play; no one left their homes...

...no one, besides Astrid, Valka, and Toothless.

Toothless was in the cove, mourning over the death of his rider. Why couldn't he have saved him!? He was RIGHT THERE! He felt terrible and guilty, thinking it was his fault.

Valka and Astrid sat together, side by side. They remained silent, sitting at the edge of the cliff; the same cliff Hiccup had fell over. No words were needed to be said. No words wanted to be said about the matter. Their eyes were brimming with tears, and they knew saying anything; even something as small as "I'm sorry" or "He's gone" would have made both of them break down in tears.

How could this happen? Valka couldn't save her husband and now her son. The only family she had left was gone forever now. She felt awful, feeling it was her fault. She should have done something...anything to save his life.

Astrid felt the same way. She couldn't save her best friend...she couldn't save someone who would know exactly how to save her had she been in that situation. Hiccup...the one who used to be known as Hiccup the Useless. The one who they'd pick on, constantly trying to make his life miserable. The same Hiccup who saved a village who deserted him in the epic battle against the Red Death. The same Hiccup who made peace with the dragons and changed their world for the better.

The same Hiccup who found the treasure of Hamish the Second when the greatest warriors in history died in the attempt. The same Hiccup who got himself deliberately struck by lightning to prove Toothless' innocence. The same Hiccup who would take an arrow for anyone in his village. The same Hiccup who defeated Drago Bludvist. The same Hiccup who they all thought would never amount to anything.

The same Hiccup they used to call "weak", who actually turned out to be the strongest of them all. The same Hiccup who fought the Screaming Death. The same Hiccup who built most the greatest weapons ever to come out of the forge.

He was brilliant. He was intelligent. He was kind. He was selfless. He was incredible. He was irreplaceable. He was strong mentally. He was clever. He was brave. He was forgiving. He was strong willed. He was humble. He was grateful. He was thankful. He was everything Astrid wished she could be.

But he was gone now.

Forever.

Or so she thought...

...

Hiccup opened his eyes a crack, groaning as the sunlight hit them. Where was he? What happened?

He suddenly felt something ice cold wash over him. He sat up suddenly, only to fall back flat on his back when he realized how much just sitting up pained him. The freezing cold liquid washed over him again...he realized it was the ocean.

What happened? He remembered falling...falling with Dagur, and then hitting something hard. Cold and hard. And then his world went black and he woke up here. Where exactly _was _here?

Looking around as much as his headache allowed him, he realized he was on Berk. He must have washed up on the shore...but how? He should have been dead! The fall...the everything.

He tried to get up again, but none of his body moved. He couldn't sit up because of all the pain in his chest; he could barely turn his head because of the blinding headache that made dots dance before his eyes; his right arm felt awful, and his right leg was no better.

Hiccup found himself wondering why his leg hurt him so much, when it suddenly dawned on him. Right. Dagur had slashed at it, probably leaving a rather ugly looking gash. He tried to lift it so he could get a look at it...and ended up screaming in pain.

_Okay, check THAT off the list, _he thought to himself. Part of him was telling him that he should have sucked it up and got up, or at least called for help (who knew how severe his injuries were?), but another part of him was just so...so..._tired. _

_I'll get help when I wake up, _Hiccup thought to himself. _I won't sleep very long. Just a few minutes... _

Weather he meant to or not, he was in deep sleep before even being able to finish his thought.

...

Astrid refused to look down the cliff. She didn't know what she would see. A body of water stretched out below, which she knew was there; a little sandy shore off to the corner, which she also knew was there...

...she just couldn't bare to look.

She and Hiccup used to sit there some nights, looking out into the sky, finding the constellations the stars created. Astrid never looked for them, or could remember where they were, despite how many countless times Hiccup had told her; she was just fascinated by how much Hiccup knew about them. He would point out every one, give the names, and ask Astrid what she found interesting.

The good old days.

The days she would never have with Hiccup again...

...WHOA! WHAT WAS THAT!?

She heard a scream. As soon as she did, both she and Valka stood up abruptly, Valka having heard it too. If they didn't know better...

...they would say it sounded like _Hiccup... _

...but that was impossible...

...Hiccup was _dead_...

They thought they were hearing things, until they heard the bounding of a certain Night Fury. Toothless ran to the side of the cliff and looked down. If Toothless heard it too, and he was acting this way...

...was it possible that Hiccup...?

They didn't waste another second. They both leaped onto Toothless, Valka sitting behind Astrid since Astrid knew how to control the tailfin, and then Toothless dived off the cliff.

"TOOTHLESS!" shouted Astrid. "SLOW DOWN!"

Toothless did not slow down. Astrid just barely had enough time to open the tail before they crashed into the ocean. Toothless turned and made his way back over to the little shore that was off to the corner.

Astrid looked. She was sure she saw something over there...what was it? Valka must have seen it, too, because when Astrid looked at her, Valka was squinting, looking at the thing they thought they saw on the sand.

Toothless flew and landed. Now Valka and Astrid were _sure _they saw something. They jumped off Toothless just as fast as they had got on, and ran over to the figure. It turned out to be...

"HICCUP!" shouted Valka as she ran over, outrunning Astrid (I believe that a terrified Mother could outrun almost _anyone _in an attempt to see their child) and making her way to Hiccup's side. She quickly knelt down and pressed her ear to his chest.

A heartbeat!

He was alive!

She breathed out a sigh of relief as Astrid raced over, kneeling right next to Valka.

"He's alive," Valka announced, gently lifting Hiccup off the ground half-way and hugging him tightly, despite how his body was limp. Astrid realized Valka was crying now from relief. Astrid suddenly realized that she, too, was crying.

Strange. She hadn't noticed it until now. Was it possible to cry without even realizing it?

Apparently so.

Hiccup felt someone hugging him. When he opened his eyes, he gently whispered. "Mom?" he asked.

Valka pulled away as soon as she heard his voice. She looked into his face. His eyes were open slightly, just enough to allow her to see the beautiful deep emerald green color that they were.

"Oh Hiccup," whispered Valka, hugging him again, trying to be calm. He had just fallen two hundred feet into water. She didn't know what kind of pain he was in. "You-you would not _believe _how much you scared me."

Hiccup made a small yelp when Valka hugged him tighter. Valka quickly pulled away, worried she'd hurt him more.

"Sorry," she said, wiping tears from her eyes as they continued to fall.

"It's okay," said Hiccup. Valka gently laid him down on the soft sand again, attempting to assess his current condition. Astrid moved forward after finally getting a hold of her tears and grasped Hiccup's hand in her own.

"Don't-" she started, choking back another sob. "Don't you _ever _do that again. Please. I can't take it."

"I don't plan to do it again," said Hiccup. "What makes you think I would?"

Toothless bounded over, no longer waiting his turn. He sauntered over to Hiccup, stopping when he was just a few inches away from the injured boy.

Hiccup looked to the dragon as Toothless gently nuzzled his side, purrs rippling through his throat.

"Hey, bud," Hiccup said, not liking how scratchy his voice sounded when he spoke. He scratched Toothless' head with his good hand, causing the dragon to break out in violent purrs of pleasure.

"We should take you back, Hiccup," said Valka. "I don't know how you were injured from the fall down the cliff...I would like to have Gothi look over you."

"Aww, again?" Hiccup asked.

"Yes, again," said Valka. She gently slid one of her arms under Hiccup's shoulder blades, the other arm sliding underneath the crook of his knees. Valka stood up, picking Hiccup in with her. He wasn't hard to carry; he weighed next to nothing. Besides, Valka had lived amongst dragons twenty years of her life, which made carrying him even easier.

Valka thought about riding Toothless back to the village, but she didn't know how severely Hiccup was injured, so she decided not to risk making it worse by going on dragon back. Hiccup rested his head against his mother's shoulder as she made her way back to the village, followed by Astrid and Toothless.

**You didn't REALLY think I'd kill poor Hiccup, now did you? I told you, I don't do good character deaths (sure, Dagur died, but I don't count him, honestly). Next chapter is the last one! We're ALMOST DONE! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!**


	27. Chapter 27

Hiccup didn't remember much while his mother carried him back to the main part of the village. All he remembered were different people shouting "HE'S ALIVE!" or "WHAT HAPPENED!?" or "HOW IN THE-!?" or "I TOLD YOU HE WASN'T DEAD!" (which came from Snotlout, and was also a lie). Hiccup went in and out of consciousness, the pain not helping.

He suddenly found himself in his bed on his loft. He was being looked over by Gothi, Toothless, Astrid and Valka standing beside her as she worked. Hiccup figured they were too concerned to leave the room, and Gothi was too focused on her work to actually care that they were there.

He fell asleep again shortly after.

The next time he woke up, everything was clear. His vision, his pain...oh man...the pain was _bad_.

He was wearing the same clothes he had on when he fell into the ocean, only he wasn't wearing his armor. When he tried to sit up, he knew his entire chest and stomach were covered in bandages.

Once he sat up, Hiccup leaned against the back headboard to his bed, exhaling. Just sitting up was hard. Not only that, but it was exhausting. He just sat up, for goodness sake! It shouldn't have made him so tired.

He noticed that his right arm was in a sling, wrapped tightly in bandages. His right leg also was wrapped in bandages. His forehead was also wrapped in bandages (apparently Gothi liked using bandages on her patients).

Hiccup was about to go to sleep again, when he heard footsteps. Soon, Toothless bounded up the stairway and ran over to his rider's bed, relieved to see him awake. Toothless was followed shortly by Astrid and Valka, who both had smiles beaming across their faces.

"Hiccup," they both breathed, racing over to him.

"Hey," said Hiccup.

"How do you feel?" asked Valka, sitting on the edge of the bed, Astrid mirroring her on the opposite side.

"Okay," said Hiccup. "Everything hurts, though."

"It will," said Valka. "Gothi said you broke another rib, dislocated your right shoulder, and sprained your right leg, but other than that, nothing. It could have been a lot worse."

"The Berserkers," said Hiccup. "What happened to-?"

"Most of them died in battle," said Astrid. "The surviving ones are waiting in prison until a proper sentence can be handed down. We won, Hiccup. As soon as Dagur was killed from the fall, they panicked. Pretty much gave up."

"Any Hooligan casualties?" asked Hiccup.

"No deaths," said Valka. "A few minor injuries. Yours were the most serious out of our tribe."

"That's good," said Hiccup. "Not good that they're hurt, I mean...good that there were no deaths."

"Yeah," said Astrid. "Although Gothi has given you strict orders NOT to get out of bed...and you bet I'm not letting you."

Toothless looked up at Astrid with eyes that said "What do you mean?" Astrid smiled.

"Yeah, Toothless," said Astrid. "It means no flying."

Toothless groaned, flopping on his back again while moaning in sorrow. The three others in the room laughed as Toothless did so.

They were finally safe. Dagur was dead, his Berserker army defeated.

It was over.

Finally over.

The choice had been made...

...and it had been the right one.

_**THE END**_

**And thus concludes the "How Not To" series! Good? Bad? Please give me your opinion! I sure loved writing this fanfiction! Now I can move on to "THIS IS BERK." If you have any suggestions on what to write next, please give them to me! Along with "THIS IS BERK" I will be writing another one sometime called "Who Is Your Friend?" It should be pretty exciting, but I won't be posting any of it for who-knows-how long. I'm working on "THIS IS BERK" now. :) Have fun! Hope you liked this! **


End file.
